South Africa: Talented local researchers further studies in state-of-the-art Swiss laboratories
Johannesburg, November 8, 2011 — Efforts to fill the gap in drug discovery and clinical research capability in South Africa (SA) are being accelerated by an innovative partnership between multinational drug company Novartis and local universities.
“There is a need for more post graduate students and more skills in clinical research and the basic drug discovery sciences in Africa,” explains Novartis Clinical Pharmacologist and Head of Scientific Capability Development, Colin Pillai. “It’s clear that independent efforts by academic institutions, the pharmaceutical industry and governments can’t develop research capability in Africa at a rapid enough pace to match the critical need – they have to work together.”
Among African countries, SA has the largest number of publications in international scientific journals but the output is still very low in comparison with countries from the developed world. In collaboration with several universities, leading pharmaceutical company, Novartis, is helping to kick-start the careers of young scientists in developing and emerging countries. This year, 15 students from Ethiopia, Kenya, Russia, South Africa, Tanzania, Ukraine and Zimbabwe spent a three month internship working on individual research projects in state-of-the art laboratories at the Novartis Campus in Basel, Switzerland under the expert mentorship of Novartis scientists. The students worked on individual projects across a range of drug discovery and clinical research areas.
The Novartis programme seeks to enrich the students’ professional development goals while providing exposure to typical drug discovery and clinical research activities in a research-based pharmaceutical company. Over the long term, the company aims to develop sustainable relationships with African institutions to address African healthcare needs.
Scientists in the fields of genetics; molecular biology; discovery chemistry and analytics; medical imaging sciences as well as mathematical modelling and simulation were chosen to attend the programme this year.
“It’s a two way process, with prospective scientists not only exposed to the latest technology and experts in their fields, but also sharing their insights into the healthcare needs of their home country,” says Pillai.
One student on the programme has investigated genetic variation in Black South Africans as part of the Southern African Human Genome project, while another used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study the effects of a new drug on patients with muscle wasting conditions. A researcher from Tanzania on the programme is looking at how co-treatments for HIV and tuberculosis can be optimised. Two others are investigating novel compounds to treat malaria.
Khulekani Mncube, a student from the University of Pretoria, has been investigating the proteins involved in wound healing as part of her MSc in Pharmacology.
“South Africa has a higher rate of chronic wounds than other countries, especially because of our high number of diabetic and HIV/Aids patients,” she says. “But there is very little understanding of the complex wound healing process at the molecular level and how this can be accelerated.”
While the imaging machines to identify wound healing proteins are available in South Africa, just a handful of people globally can operate and interpret the output from the complex technology. Mncube was able to work with one of the world’s experts in this field at the Novartis headquarters in Basel, and complete the analysis of the data for her MSc during her internship.
“I’d like to pass on what I learnt in Basel to more young scientists to help build this skills base,” says Mncube. The programme helped reinvigorate my hunger for becoming a scientist and researcher.”
University of the Western Cape, Prof Ramesh Bharuthram, says the Novartis programme helps universities offer their science students practical, cutting-edge as well as commercial experience.
“It provides unparalleled access to resources for students from developing countries,” he says.
Pillai wants the collaboration between Novartis and African universities to lead to the development of new drugs and knowledge about treating conditions that affect under-served patient groups. With Africa facing double epidemics in both infectious as well as non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, the need for local research capability has become critical. Improving the health of our populations plays an important role in the economic development of countries.
“Everywhere a disease exists, there are local nuances in the presentation, diagnosis and treatment,” says Pillai. “We need local scientists who can sensitise the companies that discover medicines to the specificities in the different regions or populations across the world.”
About 90% of the demand for future drugs and pharmaceuticals is likely to come from emerging countries. However, in Africa in particular, science and technology has tended to take a back seat as the continent struggles to deal with a long list of priorities, including overcoming poverty and delivering basic services.
