The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced an investment of $140 million in Intarcia Therapeutics, a US pharmaceutical company that is developing a device to help prevent HIV infections.

The company makes matchstick-size devices that are implanted under a person's skin to continuously release preventive drugs. One device can hold up to a year's supply of medicine.

According to Bloomberg, The Gates Foundation will provide $50 million upfront for Intarcia as a part of the deal. The rest of the $90 million may be given in grants depending on how the HIV program goes, the company said in a statement.

With this move, Intarcia Therapeutics has completed its second major close of the Series EE equity financing to help prevent the spread of HIV where the epidemic is the most severe, including the Sub-Saharan Africa.

Stressing on the vital need for an HIV/AIDS intervention, Sue Desmond-Hellmann, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said that the device would allow those at risk to incorporate prevention more easily into their daily lives.

"We feel optimistic about our partnership with Intarcia and the prospect of an implantable prophylactic device that could make a world of difference for people most in need," she added.

The Seattle-based Gates Foundation has set aside about $1.5 billion for program-related investments including loans, equity stakes, and other incentives for companies. The investments would help non-profit organizations to take risks when venture capitalists do not come forward. Till now, the charity has committed about $1 billion in more than 40 investments, the program's director said earlier this year.

Currently, Intarcia is seeking regulatory approval for a device that delivers a diabetes drug, but it aims to make a therapy to prevent HIV.