Page 111 - SAMRC Annual Report 2023-24

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Drug Discovery &
Development Research Unit

Unit director:
Prof. Kelly Chibale

Prioritising responsive research Using the unit's historical data, a cascade of AI/ML
through impactful interventions models that mimics the experimental anti-malarial
and anti-tuberculosis drug screening pipelines were
The main goals and important projects for the Drug successfully developed and deployed. The impact
Discovery and Development Research Unit in the achieved during the reporting period was significant
2023/24 financial year mainly revolved around two improvement in the efficiencies of the screening
themes: The repurposing of cancer drugs for malaria processes resulting in an overall acceleration of the
and the development and the deployment of drug discovery processes.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
tools to bring efficiency to drug discovery projects. Equitable capacity development

The overarching goal of the repurposing study is to for empowering communities
investigate whether clinically relevant cancer drugs The unit has concluded a fruitful year of capacity
can be repurposed for the treatment of malaria. building and training initiatives. This has also
Several human kinase inhibitors that are in various resulted in a tangible increase in interest in drug
phases of clinical development for cancer therapy discovery research both in South Africa and on
have demonstrated activity against the human the African continent. The following items are key
malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. These highlights from the past year:
anti-cancer kinase inhibitors are often associated
with adverse drug reactions, not only owing to the (1) The unit approached two South African
nature of the molecular drug target, but also due Historically Disadvantaged Institutions (HDIs),
to the high dose and long duration of treatment University of Limpopo and University of
that is used in the oncology field. Notwithstanding Venda, to support them to submit 3-year drug
this, it is hypothesised that a relatively lower dose discovery project proposals. Both proposals
coupled with a shorter length of treatment will were awarded, with 80% of the funding going
be required for an acute malaria infection, which to the HDI, with the remaining 20% coming to
could potentially alleviate the off-target activity and the unit to allow the HDI full access to the unit's
toxicity that is observed during chemotherapy. To platform services and support for the students
this end, human dose predictions can be performed to work at the unit for periods of their project.
to provide evidence to support whether human The unit supported visiting researchers from
anti-cancer kinase inhibitors can be repurposed for both institutions during 2023.
use in malaria. The potential impact is the provision
of a cost-effective approach to accelerating the (2) In partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates
development of treatments with novel clinical use, Foundation (BMGF), Medicines for Malaria
as the clinical safety of the cancer drug has already Venture (MMV) and the University of Dundee
been demonstrated. Drug Discovery Unit, launched the Ghana Drug

SAMRC ANNUAL REPOR T 2023-24 109