Page 4 - Annual Report - Summative Report 2024-2025

PROJECTS HIGHLIGHTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Supporting Health Research and Innovation Ecosystems in South Africa
Through Strategic Partnerships

The SAMRC plays an important role in supporting and Fully capacitated and well-coordinated ecosystems
building the national health research and innovation enable aligned and efficient research and development
system in South Africa through its core functions of efforts that can be applied in all priority areas to address
conducting research, funding research and supporting national health needs, including during pandemics. The
research capacity development, innovation and research SAMRC’s Grants Innovation and Product Development
translation. Its funding and innovation activities in 2024 (GIPD) unit has been particularly focused on building
focused substantially on driving an ecosystem approach research and innovation ecosystems for vaccines,
to ensure that the organisation not only supports cutting medical devices and diagnostics and indigenous
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
edge research but is also able to facilitate the translation knowledge system/ plant-based medicines. Key to this
of this research into policy, products and practice. has been the establishment of local and international
partnerships for funding and general ecosystem
participation and support.
Supporting a Vaccine Development Ecosystem
2024/25 SIR Grant Portfolio by Institution
Vaccines Research and Innovation Ecosystem
mRNA Technology Transfer Hub

23

19

12 12
11
10

mRNA Hub partners and supporters

4
3 3 3 3
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2 2 2
South Africa has established, through decades of R&D Innovation (DSTI), the ELMA Vaccines and Immunization
SUN ARC CAPRISA CPUT CSIR HSRC ICGEB MINTEK NICD NMU NWU Rhodes SMU UCT UFS UJhb UKZN ULimp Univen UP UStell UWC Wits WSU WHC and infrastructure investments, a Vaccines Research Foundation, Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), the
and Innovation Ecosystem that is depicted above.
Shiong Family Foundation (CSSFF) and the German
The SAMRC has contributed to the development and World Health Organization (WHO), the Chan Soon-
expansion of this ecosystem through its investments Government through the KfW Development Bank (KfW).
in and coordination of specific vaccine development The mRNA Hub Programme has been used to fill gaps
and human capital and infrastructure projects and in the vaccine development value chain and is testing
programs, together with strategic funding partners the ecosystem by taking pilot projects on HIV and TB
2024/25 SIR Grant Portfolio by researcher category such as the Department of Science, Technology and vaccine candidates through towards clinical studies.

mRNA Hub funders

The mRNA Technology Transfer Programme is The SAMRC established the South African mRNA
42%
a global initiative established by the WHO in Vaccine Consortium (SAMVAC) in 2022 to drive
partnership with the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP)
58% 4 SAMRC SUMMATIVE REPOR T 2025-26 the research, development and testing of mRNA
that aims to improve health and health security vaccine candidates, focusing on the priority diseases
by establishing sustainable, locally owned mRNA of South-Africa and Africa. SAMVAC comprises of 10
manufacturing capabilities in and for low- and consortium members, including the University of
middle-income countries (LMICs) to enable a more the Witwatersrand (Wits), Wits Health Consortium
equitable response to future pandemics. The South (WHC), the University of Cape Town (UCT), the African
Africa-based hub comprises of Afrigen Biologics, Health Research Institute (AHRI), the University of
Stellenbosch (SU), North-West University (NWU),
the SAMRC and Biovac, a South African vaccine
Early producer and manufacturing partner in the LMIC the National Institute for Communicable Diseases
Mid/Est (NICD), the SAMRC, the CSIR and Afrigen Biologics.
network. Within this consortium, Afrigen is the entity Each consortium member plays a role in fulfilling
mandated to establish mRNA vaccine production the product development value chain and a key
technology and to transfer this technology to other goal has been to fill any existing gaps and ensure
LMIC partners, whilst the SAMRC is coordinating that South Africa has the capability to take an
an mRNA vaccine research and development mRNA vaccine candidate all the way through the
programme to contribute to sustainability of the hub. product development process from identification of

170 SAMRC ANNUAL REPOR T 2024-25 SAMRC ANNUAL REPOR T 2024-25 171