Page 134 - SAMRC AnnualReport 2025-26

Drug Discovery and
Development Research Unit

UNIT DIRECTOR:
Prof. Kelly Chibale
Kelly.Chibale@uct.ac.za

Overview of the Research Unit South Africa continues to face a growing burden of
infectious diseases, the resurgence of longstanding
The Research Unit is focused on advancing early-
stage medicines discovery through innovative public health threats such as TB and bacterial
preclinical research to address some of Africa’s most infections, and the increasing prevalence of chronic
pressing infectious disease challenges. Its core non-communicable diseases. These challenges
disease focus areas include malaria, tuberculosis have significant implications for both public health
(TB), and antibiotic-resistant microbial infections, and socio-economic development. In response,
and it contributes directly to efforts to combat the Unit’s research agenda is specifically designed
antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Through this work, to support national and continental research
the Unit plays a critical role in health innovation by and development priorities by identifying and
translating basic scientific discoveries into potential developing novel medicines candidates for diseases
new therapeutic interventions that can improve that disproportionately affect African populations.
health outcomes in South Africa and across the The Unit integrates multidisciplinary scientific
African continent.
approaches and advanced technology platforms
to accelerate the discovery and optimisation of
promising drug leads suitable for progression
toward clinical development. In addition to research
excellence, the Unit is committed to strengthening
Africa’s medicines discovery ecosystem by
developing specialised infrastructure and innovative
technology platforms, and by training a critical mass
of highly skilled scientists capable of driving future
biomedical innovation on the continent.

Key Milestones and Achievements

A major focus of the Unit’s research has been the
integration of multiple scientific disciplines to identify
high-quality drug leads for optimisation into potential
clinical candidates. One of the Unit’s notable
achievements has been in the area of drug repurposing
– the strategic investigation of existing medicines as
potential therapies for different diseases – to shorten
Prof. Kelly Chibale with Dr Mohamed A. the lengthy, costly drug discovery process.
El-Erian, then President of Queens’ College,
University of Cambridge at the award The Unit successfully explored similarities in how
ceremony in Cambridge, UK.
certain anticancer drugs and antimalarial therapies
target kinase enzymes in cells. Building on this

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