Page 5 - Advancing Life 2023

The Chan Soon-Shiong Family
Foundation and SAMRC team up
to build capacity in the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry
The Chan Soon-Shiong Family
Foundation (CSSFF) and the
SAMRC are collaborating on
several capacity development
programmes which have been
made possible by a generous
donation from the CSSFF and
contributions from the SAMRC.
The CSSFF-SAMRC capacity development
programme seeks to support an area of need
in Africa – aiming to grow the next generation
of biopharmaceutical manufacturing
professionals, researchers, and technical
experts needed to establish an industry in
(South) Africa and on the continent.
The man behind the award, Dr Patrick Soon-
Shiong saw the need to invest in the programme
Building a healthy
nation through
research translation
Research Translation (RT) is
an important strategic goal
of the SAMRC. RT involves
a set of activities and
processes to move ideas
or recommendations that
come from research studies
into policies and healthcare South Africa GELA research translation team
practice. members
It is about making new knowledge gained through research accessible,
understandable, and usable for health decision-making, so that valuable insights
and discoveries from research have a meaningful impact on people’s health and
society.
It was clear that we
needed to build the
vaccine manufacturing
industry in Africa, and a key
part of doing this is to build
a workforce ecosystem.
– Dr Richard Gordon
stating “There is a critical need for Africa to
manufacture drug substance vaccine product.
This will require a concerted training programme
to build a workforce capable of fulfilling all who have graduated with a degree in health
sciences, life sciences, chemistry, chemical
aspects of the manufacturing value chain. We engineering, pharmacy and allied science
are delighted to be playing our part and offer
young scientists opportunities to be part of this”. degrees that are relevant for the health and
biotechnology sector.
Dr Richard Gordon – Director for International
Business Development, said that the global The lab-based training programme covered
both laboratory and soft skills required in
pandemic highlighted issues around global biopharmaceutical manufacturing and will
supply of vaccines, drugs and medical devices extend through to key processes involved
etc, which were deeply felt in Africa, especially
around vaccines. “It was clear that we needed in up- and down-stream biopharmaceutical
to build the vaccine manufacturing industry in manufacturing. By using the expertise of the
Africa, and a key part of doing this is to build a SAMRC in the fields of molecular biology and
workforce ecosystem.” biochemistry, the programme aims to take young
scientists from academia and get them into
To date, this programme has included awards industry. Thus far, 2 cohorts of the Studentship
for young scientists allowing them to complete Programme have received their certificate after
2 biomanufacturing training internships as well completing the introductory training course in
as a range of awards for Masters and Doctoral biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
projects. The selected candidates being those
WHY IS RESEARCH
TRANSLATION IMPORTANT?
RT plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between research
and real-world issues. It can help inform and improve decision-
making, promote a better understanding of what research is
and how it can address health issues. It can also guide the
allocation of resources by identifying strategies that have the
greatest impact on health outcomes. Additionally, RT can help
reduce waste by ensuring that research is put to good use,
and promote collaboration between different health decision-
makers, and it can ensure that research is making a difference
in communities and is continuously being improved.
The Global Evidence - Local Adaptation (GELA) project, which
is part of the EDCTP2 programme, is situated within the Health
Systems Research Unit at the SAMRC, includes a well-considered
RT approach. The GELA project aims to support decision-makers
in making guideline recommendations for newborn and young
child health in Malawi, Nigeria and South Africa.
For more information on the GELA project and its research
translation approach, please contact Prof Tamara Kredo and
Dr Bey Schmidt – Health Systems Research Unit.