The Department of Science and Technology, working closely with its Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), invests in capacity at University of Cape Town (UCT), and other institutions, by providing seed funding and related support. A pertinent example is our department’s three year partnership with the university’s Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3-D), led by Professor Kelly Chibale.
The Centre, which involves a number of UCT faculties, trains and develops African scientists, equipping them with much-needed skills in integrated modern drug discovery and preclinical development.
The Centre has just announced its collaboration with the pharmaceutical giant Novartis’s Institute for BioMedical Research in Massachusetts, USA – a partnership that will boost drug discovery and development capabilities in Africa, helping to educate the next generation of scientists in Africa and bridging the gap between basic science and clinical research.
The initiative will advance innovative medicines for the treatment of diseases on the African continent, starting with tuberculosis and malaria, and will also involve exchange programmes between Novartis and H3-D scientists. Research capabilities will be enhanced, creating commercial opportunities for South Africa.
The Minister of Science and Technology, Derek Hanekom would like to congratulate Prof Kelly Chibale on forging this collaboration with one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. This represents a tangible return on the investment made by the department in human capital development and infrastructure, and follows the endorsement last year by the Medicines for Malaria Venture of the first compound developed by H3-D as a pre-clinical anti-malarial candidate.
Prof Chibale, a world-class scientist, has his roots in Africa and is committed to growing science, based in Africa, and ensuring that this science is acknowledged. Novartis should also be commended for recognising the research excellence in Africa and for partnering with us to grow the African research agenda in pursuit of treatments that are appropriate for Africa.
For more information, please contact:
Nthabi Maoela
Cell: 082 944 0015
