Prof Douglass Oliver,
Congress Delegates;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Good evening and thank you very much for this opportunity to address you.
I hope that holding this conference in Africa will help us to take significant steps towards boosting Africa-based medical research.
I wish to provide a brief overview of South African medical research. South Africa has built considerable strength in basic science and clinical research. Our main focus has been on HIV/AIDS and TB. This focus grew out of a growth in the basic sciences that underpin infectious disease research (immunology, virology, microbiology, biochemistry & genetics).
As a result, we have established a continuum of research strength from the basic sciences to clinical research. The connection between the two enables very strong laboratory support to be given to clinical research that is aimed at applying novel interventions in the field (diagnostics, vaccines and drugs). The ability to cycle between the laboratory, clinic and field site provides a very powerful platform for translational research. This gives South Africa a very significant comparative advantage over countries in which strength is focused either on the basic sciences or clinical research, but not both.
At the moment there is significant growth in both research and development as pharmaceutical companies look to promote open innovation in pure research. We see more and more clinical testing and development taking place in South Africa.
We have a number of centres at universities aimed at stimulating and coordinating research activity and managing drugs, diagnostics and vaccine development projects particularly in the areas of HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis (TB).
I think in particular of the University of Cape Town's Drug Discovery and Development Centre, also known as H3-D, that my Department supports. The Drug Discovery Centre's vision is to deliver drug candidates for clinical development. Their activities mirror those of a start-up biotechnology or a pharmaceutical company. The Centre is involved in partnerships that allow them to harness the synergies obtained from working on multiple disease areas. The H3-D is Africa's first integrated drug discovery and development centre.
The H3-D aims to bridge the gap between basic and clinical studies, training a new generation of African scientists with key skills required for drug discovery and development, by integrating medicinal chemistry, biology, pharmacology as well as drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) studies as reflected in the processes of Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion (ADME).
Typically, these initiatives play a coordinating role in setting a disease-specific R&D agenda, raising funds and managing R&D projects. Importantly, these centres aim to stimulate product-oriented innovation. The objective is to create opportunities for commercialisation of products and services that will reduce the burden of diseases affecting the majority of our people.
In 2012 H3-D, in collaboration with the Medicines for Malaria Venture, announced the discovery of a novel chemical compound with the potential to impact both malaria control and eradication. The clinical candidate is the first compound researched in Africa to enter pre-clinical development.
I should add that we have a research chair initiative at our universities. Its rationale is to strengthen research capacity and leadership at South African public universities by attracting established researchers from abroad and from industry. To date we have awarded 157 research chairs, and 128 of those are already filled. The research areas are wide and varied and arranged in directed chairs and specific themes. We have a chair in chronic diseases and lifestyles and another in health research for development, one in drug discovery sciences and another in industrial biotechnology. Since the initiative began the number of black postgraduates has increased by 400% and the number of female postgraduates by 450%. Over the next three years we have made an additional R1.3 billion available to the initiative.
The South African government has committed itself to the establishment of the necessary initiatives and infrastructure that will assist in the drug development value chain. This includes medicinal chemistry, high-throughput screening, preclinical testing facilities and capabilities and the manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). By 2015 more than 2.5 million HIV-infected South Africans will need anti-retroviral treatment, and it is therefore essential that we have a secure and affordable supply of antiretrovirals.
The Ketlaphela consortium was established as a joint venture between the Industrial Development Corporation and Pelchem. The consortium is constructing a facility for the local manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients for anti-retrovirals, as well as formulated tablets for governments ARV treatment programme. With pharmaceutical imports currently contributing substantially to our trade deficit, this mainly state owned pharmaceutical company will be immensely important to the objectives of government's National Development Plan.
We have in the Department of Science and Technology a bio-economy strategy. Over the next decade, we have an ambitious plan to become an emerging world leader in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, based on our indigenous resources and expanding knowledge base. We believe we will be able to achieve this by integrating our rich natural biodiversity, indigenous knowledge with applied biotechnology. We have built capacity and infrastructure, and have developed value chains in the application of biotechnology to a range of areas – new diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics, improved crops and livestock, and cleaner and more efficient industries.
Building on existing networks and creating new synergies, we also plan to extend our collaborations in this regard with partners in both developed and developing countries, including research institutions, governments, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and international organisations.
We hope these initiatives will allow us to promote our pharmaceutical industry by contributing towards the development of essential medicines for diseases that affect the majority of the people in Africa. The development of a strong and vibrant pharmaceutical industry is of enormous importance in Africa. The development and provision of high quality medicines has saved lives, improved life expectancy and enhanced the quality of life for so many people. The debilitating effects of conditions such as asthma, diabetes, ulcers, cancer and mental illness have been alleviated by the tremendous advances which have been made in the area of medicines.
Given the challenges of innovation, continued R&D progress requires robust support in the form of strong patent protection incentives and cooperation. The relationship between intellectual property and the protection of public health has been a major issue of debate in several international forums, particularly at the World Trade Organisation and the World Health Organisation.
South Africa takes note of and appreciates the work done recently by the World Health Organisation in developing a global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation and intellectual property to address conditions affecting developing countries. We believe that this strategy will go a long way towards providing mechanisms for encouraging incentives into research and development of medicines for diseases that affect developing countries.
We recognise that providing essential medicines to our people presents a unique challenge that requires greater effort, cooperation and collaboration at the international level. Partners such as the World health Organisation, the Council on Health Research and Development, the African Network for Drugs and Diagnostics Innovation are very valuable in this process. It is through these innovative vehicles that the advances in medicine and public health have continued to improve lives for many and to postpone death for some.
Delegates, the final day of this Congress is on Mandela Day, 18 July. I hope that you will find an opportunity to pledge 67 minutes of your time to commemorate the life of one of the world's greatest leaders. Mandela once made this profound observation: 'For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
Thank you.
