Page 169 - SAMRC AnnualReport 2025-26

P E R FOR M A NC E I N FOR M A T I ON

Illumina supports two national laboratories with on health research financing, an area historically
recently installed Illumina Novaseq X plus systems absent from the FfD agenda. This partnership has
to participate in the South African 110K Human enabled the SAMRC to secure a seat at the table
Genome Pilot phase of the programme, while a of one of the most strategically important global
central feature of the partnership with MGI Tech Co. financing discussions. While past FfD summits
was the installation of Africa’s first DNBSEQ-T7 ultra- have successfully shaped the global development
high-throughput sequencing platform at the SAMRC finance architecture, health and particularly NCDs
Genomics Centre in Cape Town. The collective has not featured prominently. Until recently, global
infrastructure provides South Africa with advanced health funding within development finance has
local sequencing capability at scale, aiming to lower focused almost exclusively on infectious diseases.
sequencing costs, improve accessibility, strengthen However, as the burden of NCDs grows, especially
bioinformatics and technical expertise, and enable across Africa, there is an urgent need to advocate
African researchers to lead high-impact genomic for a shift in funding priorities.
studies from within the continent.
With health research now newly incorporated
European Partnerships in into the global financing agenda, this presented
Personalised Medicine a critical opportunity for Africa to assert a strong
and unified voice. It is imperative that we influence
In the past year the SAMRC officially joined the future development finance models to ensure
European Partnerships in Personalised Medicine meaningful investment in NCD research, precision
(EP-PerMed) as a full beneficiary member. medicine, and underfunded national genomics
This co-fund, established under the European initiatives. FfD4 provided a strategic platform to
Commission, is a 10 year programme (now in position scientific research, innovation, and digital
its 3rd year) with a total investment of EUR 400 transformation at the core of resilient and inclusive
million. The SAMRC successfully participated financing strategies, and to ensure Africa's health
in three joint funding calls, Joint Transnational research priorities are no longer overlooked.
Call JTC2025 – Pharmacogenomics; a Research,
Innovation and Technology Call (RITC 2026) and
a Joint Transnational Call on Cardio metabolic
disease (JTC2026-CARMEN). These calls afford
South African researchers the opportunity to work
within larger global consortia to conduct cutting
edge research that can be ultimately translated into
personalised medicine solutions for South African
healthcare.

Policy Level Engagements
The SAMRC co-developed content for and
participated in the United Nations Fourth The SAMRC President & CEO and SAMRC
International Conference on Financing for Senior Programme Manager for Precision
Medicine presented in-person at several
Development (FfD4) in Seville, Spain, from 30 June sessions at the United Nations Fourth
to 3 July 2025. This high-level summit, which takes International Conference on Financing for
place only once every 10 years, brings together Development (FfD4) held in Seville, Spain,
global funders, senior policymakers, scientists, from 30 June to 3 July 2025.
innovators, development banks, and private
sector leaders to explore how scientific and digital
innovation can drive sustainable finance and The SAMRC team participated in several high-level
economic transformation. sessions exploring the role of science, innovation,
and strategic partnerships in advancing sustainable
Over the past year, the SAMRC has collaborated development, including:
closely with the DSTI and the Africa-Europe Science
and Innovation Platform (AERAP) to develop a more › Advancing Science, Innovation, and Global
inclusive agenda that introduces a dedicated focus Partnership for a Shared Future

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