Page 6 - Annual Report - Summative Report 2024-2025

biomarkers, device and diagnostic development, Other noteworthy projects that have continued in
proof of concept and testing of new medical devices 2024 include Product Nkabinde, a traditional medicine
and diagnostics. MeDDIC funds regulatory support showing promise for HIV management, developed by Mr.
for innovators as well as access to technical support Magugu Nkabinde and his family, with further scientific
from service providers to the sector. The programme R&D being conducted by a team at the University of
also hosts and convenes a national Medical Devices KwaZulu-Natal and Africa Health Research Institute.
Stakeholder Forum and compiles and makes available This product has laboratory demonstrated anti-HIV and
information on the sector through the MeDDIC website immunomodulatory properties and has led to a patent
and the medical devices portal on the Innovation Bridge filing.
platform. These initiatives, made possible through the
funders and implementing partners, are ensuring that A second project is on a supplement for HIV/AIDS
more innovations initiated and developed in South Africa patients, developed by indigenous knowledge holder Mr.
and right for the local context are successfully deployed David Molefi, with further scientific R&D being conducted
to address key health needs in South Africa and beyond. by a professor at Tshwane University of Technology,
focusing on safety and pharmaceutical validation. For
IKS/Plant-based Medicines these projects, BRIP/SAMRC is supporting some of the
in vitro and toxicity screening, and the SAMRC’s Primate
Ecosystem Unit and Delft Animal Centre is supporting the in vivo
work.
African traditional medicines (ATMs) have been a
cornerstone of healthcare for centuries, yet they In addition to other national efforts in this regard, notably
remain underappreciated and underutilised in modern at the University of the Free State, these projects, co-
health systems. With the challenges facing mainstream funded by the SAMRC and TIA, are serving to chart a
healthcare in South Africa and across the continent, product development pathway for the scientific validation
there is an urgent need to recognise the potential of and SAHPRA-approved first in human studies on these
indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) not only to improve products and highlight the potential of traditional
health outcomes but also to boost the economy. For healer – academia collaboration. Additionally, the
many, particularly in rural areas, traditional medicines SAMRC continues to fund smaller grants in the IKS and
serve as the first line of treatment. These remedies, phytomedicine arena through its self-initiated research
rooted in centuries of practice and observation, are used and capacity development initiatives. The benefits of
to manage pain, build immunity, treat wounds, and cure scientific validation of plant-based medicines extend
diseases. beyond health and include the potential for economic
empowerment and job creation that will improve the
Despite this, scepticism abounds, primarily because overall well-being of rural communities.
these medicines have not always been validated by
modern scientific methods. The SAMRC is playing a Launch of the 100 Day Mission Report in Partnership
role in unlocking the potential of traditional medicines with IPPS and the NDOH Pandemic preparedness is
to improve health as part of a broader national initiative one of SAMRC’s key priorities following the COVID-19
led by the Department of Science, Technology, and pandemic and more recent outbreaks of Mpox, H5N1,
Innovation and cosupported by the Technology cholera, and other pathogens of concern. As such, the
Innovation Agency, by supporting a suite of initiatives to SAMRC was honoured to partner with the International
establish a validated value chain for progressing plant- Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat (IPPS) and the
based medicines towards clinical testing. National Department of Health in January 2025 to launch
the 4th Implementation Report of the 100 Days Mission
One of these is the SAMRC’s Biomedical Research and (100DM), an initiative aimed at ensuring global access
Innovation Platform (BRIP), which conducts research and to diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines (DTVs) within
development on therapeutics from indigenous resources. 100 days of a Public Health Emergency of International
This includes the ATM platform, established to facilitate Concern.
the screening and development of traditional medicines.
This platform has also initiated the South African Natural The report, unveiled at an event co-hosted by IPPS, the
Product Consortium (SANPC), which, in collaboration National Department of Health and SAMRC in Cape
with partners from historically disadvantaged institutions Town, highlights that while there have been bright
such as Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, spots at a national level, the world remains insufficiently
University of Limpopo, Tshwane University of Technology prepared for a 100-day response to a future pandemic.
and University of Zululand, is advancing efforts to The report is accompanied by the 2nd iteration of the
standardize methodologies for ATMs, ensuring scientific 100DM scorecard which shows that critical gaps remain,
robustness and consistency in their evaluation and particularly in the development and deployment of
development. diagnostics and therapeutics for diseases with pandemic

6 SAMRC SUMMATIVE REPOR T 2024-25