Page 146 - SAMRC Annual Report 2023-24

the impact of the standardised oral 9 – 12-month The next year will see the pharmacogenomics
treatment regimen introduced in South Africa in portfolio come to an end and a subsequent review
2019. The study showed that the regimen only process will commence in April 2024 to identify
had a 38.4% treatment success rate at the end of opportunities for further product development
treatment, which was much lower than the 64% support within the portfolio. The past year was
success rate indicated by data from the national also spent developing a 110,000 Human Genome
TB register. programme for South Africa. This programme is set
• In the area of diagnostics, two new gene signatures to address core programmatic gaps to bolster the
for TB have been identified and validated. The research and innovation potential for South Africa.
first, a 3-gene signature, was shown to be able to The programme focuses on creating a unified
distinguish adults with active TB from individuals ecosystem garnering the participation of all national
with lower respiratory tract infections with 100% role players to develop a pilot phase and set up a
sensitivity and specificity. The second gene national centralised data repository.
signature, comprised of 5 genes, was reported to
be able to discriminate between individuals with The GIPD Precision Medicine Programme Manager
active and latent TB infection with a sensitivity developed and participated in core engagements at
of 93.3% and specificity of 100%. These profiles the Science Summit of the United Nations General
meet WHO Target Product Profiles, and thus hold Assembly (UNGA78) which took place in New
promise to significantly improve the diagnosis of York, USA in September 2023. Her presentation
TB in South Africa and the rest of the world. highlighted the need for cross-border collaboration,
• Three consortia with participants from South Africa regional development, and investment in scaled
successfully competed for funding through genomics programmes in Africa.
the international Joint Programming Initiative
on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR), further This meeting was a hybrid event with various
cementing the role of South African research in ministries and political leaders from the EU, AU, and
the global landscape. UN designed to inform and engage with policymakers
to ensure that the role and contribution of science,
While the key focus of the SHIP programme is enabled through digital technologies, is reflected in
supporting product development, transformation the European Union and its Member States’ policies
and capacity development are important concerning Africa. The meetings were also designed
additional goals. As part of a SHIP-funded drug to increase the level of participation and reinforce
discovery capacity development initiative at the the networking by African nations with their partners
University of Venda (UniVen), a MSc student from in related EU programmes. Existing and novel digital
UniVen was sponsored to spend time at H3D and capacities for expanding science inclusion and citizen
received advanced training in ADMET (Absorption, participation by all groups in society across Africa
Distribution, Metabolism, And Excretion–Toxicity were explored. An output from this engagement
in pharmacokinetics), a key component of drug was a proposal for the SAMRC to participate in “The
discovery, in addition to receiving chemistry European Health Data Space” and contribute to the
mentoring from the H3D team. There were at least 20 policy dialogue on the development of the African
female-led projects in the SHIP portfolio in 2023/24 personalised medicine agenda with both the UN
and over 60 postgraduate students supported by and EU.
SHIP projects.
The SAMRC, together with the DSI and USA Health
The DSI renewed its commitment to SHIP by Attache, visited the NIH in June 2023 to foster
extending the contract with the SAMRC for another
three years, with over R265 million allocated for the deeper collaboration and build partnerships for
financial years 2023/24 to 2025/26. the development of programmatic research in
NCD’s and precision medicine. The visit included
Precision Medicine is a key priority within the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,
SHIP programme that is being advanced through Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, the
a portfolio of funded projects focused on National Cancer Institute and the All of US Research
pharmacogenomics and precision medicine for Program. The engagement resulted in several US-
various cancers and cardiometabolic diseases and is South African collaborative initiatives, such as the
a key example of the application of 5IR to healthcare. development of the US-SA Cancer Alliance network.

144 SAMRC ANNUAL REPOR T 2023-24