Page 168 - SAMRC Annual Report 2024-2025

The Newton Fund and International three in multimorbidity and six in One Health. The
Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) 10 female and 3 male PIs are from Rhodes University,
Stellenbosch University, University of Pretoria,
The SAMRC-Newton Fund programmes are the University of the Free State, University of the
result of a co-funding initiative with the UKRI MRC, Witwatersrand, SAMRC, the Council for Scientific
established in 2015, that support South African and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the National
projects that respond to national health priorities Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).
while simultaneously contributing to global health
advancement for social, economic and health US-South Africa Programme for
impact. Since 2015, this partnership has funded Collaborative Biomedical Research
several programmes focusing on the following
areas: Translation Research in Non-communicable The US-South Africa Programme for Collaborative
Diseases, Mental Health in South Africa, Tuberculosis Biomedical Research was established through
Implementation Science, and AMR Drug Discovery a Memorandum of Understanding between the
and Antibiotic Accelerator, supporting a total of 21 SAMRC and the US National Institutes of Health
projects across 12 institutions. While most of these (NIH) in 2013 with the intent to establish or expand
projects have now come to an end, in 2024, a call long-term relations between scientists from South
was launched to fund additional projects in AMR to Africa and the United States in order to perform
either expand on the existing AMR drug discovery high-quality biomedical and behavioural research
projects, collaborate with the AMR principal leading to scientific discovery, as well as to foster
investigators, or propose projects that expand the the expansion of health research skills among
existing UK-South Africa Antimicrobial Resistance programme participants, with a particular focus on
the transformational agenda in South Africa. Phase
Drug Discovery Partnership Hub by undertaking drug 1 of the collaborative programme ran from 2014 –
discovery to address AMR using alternative sources 2019 and supported a total of 34 awards to SA-US
of compounds/ antimicrobials and/or novel assays collaborative research projects on tuberculosis, HIV/
and/or targeting other pathogens of high relevance AIDS, and HIV/AIDS-associated malignancies. Phase
in the South African setting. Awards for this request 2 ran from 2019/20 and supported 18 awards, most
for applications (RFA) will be made in 2025.
of which are now complete or coming to an end.
The SAMRC has extended its collaboration with A number of publications had resulted from
the UK through a new partnership with the MRC phase 2 of this programme by the end of the 4th
UKRI under the umbrella of the UK’s International year, with PhD/ Post-docs/students being trained.
Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) to address African Phase 3 of the collaborative programme is now
health challenges. In February 2024, three new underway with planned contributions of around $1M
RFAs were released seeking innovative proposals and $2.8M per annum from the SAMRC and NIH,
on non-communicable diseases; co-morbidity or respectively. The parties collaborated to develop and
multimorbidity of infectious diseases and non- release the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) on
communicable diseases; and One Health, climate 17 September 2024, with closing date 12 March
and health. The aim is to support research that further 2025. Research areas to be supported under
improves our understanding of disease mechanisms, this programme include HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS co-
presentation and progression and informs morbidities and co-infections, HIV/AIDS-associated
innovative prevention and treatment strategies that implementation science, and HIV/AIDS-associated
are likely to be efficacious, cost-effective, affordable, data science. As with the other phases, the intent of
potentially sustainable, and acceptable to the key this NOFO is to foster, stimulate, and/or expand basic,
stakeholders in Africa. The programme also aims translational, behavioural and applied research that
to support collaboration between researchers in will advance scientific discovery and engage US and
South Africa and the UK as well as scientists from South African researchers working collaboratively in
other African countries and to strengthen research the priority areas. The collaborating NIH Institutes
capacity by supporting training and mentoring of in this third phase of the programme include the
the next generation of researchers, with a focus on National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
those from previously disadvantaged ethnic groups (NIAID), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National
and institutions. Thirteen new awards were made Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA),
under this programme in 2024, with four in NCDs, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child

166 SAMRC ANNUAL REPOR T 2024-25