Page 172 - SAMRC AnnualReport 2025-26

The Newton Fund and International the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) (CSIR) and the National Institute for Communicable
In 2015, the SAMRC established a co-funding Diseases (NICD). In 2026, an additional two awards
initiative with the Newton Fund, executed through in One Health were made to 2 female PIs from
the UKRI MRC (United Kingdom Research and Stellenbosch University and the University of Pretoria.
Innovation, Medical Research Council), which, over
a number of years, supported a total of 21 projects US-South Africa Programme for
across 12 institutions in priority areas such as NCDs, Collaborative Biomedical Research
mental health, TB implementation science and The US-South Africa Programme for Collaborative
AMR drug discovery. The latter programme funded Biomedical Research was established through
2 AMR Drug Discovery Partnership Hubs at Rhodes a Memorandum of Understanding between the
University and the University of Pretoria, supported SAMRC and the US National Institutes of Health
by H3D at the University of Cape Town. In 2024, a (NIH) in 2013 with the intent to establish or expand
new call was launched to fund additional projects long-term relations between scientists from South
focusing on drug discovery to address AMR using Africa and the United States in order to perform
alternative sources of compounds/antimicrobials high-quality biomedical and behavioural research
and/or novel assays and/or targeting other leading to scientific discovery, as well as to foster
pathogens of high relevance in the South African the expansion of health research skills among
setting. In 2025, awards were made to three female programme participants, with a particular focus on
researchers from Rhodes University, University of the transformational agenda in South Africa. Phase
Pretoria and Stellenbosch University, focusing on 1 of the collaborative programme ran from 2014 for
natural products, scorpion antimicrobial peptide 5 years and supported a total of 34 awards to SA-
analogues and novel antifungals, respectively. US collaborative research projects on tuberculosis,
These projects are expanding and diversifying HIV/AIDS, and HIV/AIDS-associated malignancies,
the drug discovery capability in the country while while Phase 2 ran from 2019/20 and supported 18
addressing critical product gaps in the AMR arena. awards. Phase 3 of the collaborative programme
was initiated in 2024 with the release of a Notice
In 2023, the SAMRC established a new partnership of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) on 17 September
with the MRC UKRI under the umbrella of the UK’s 2024, with closing date 12 March 2025. Research areas
International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) to to be supported under this programme include HIV/
address African health challenges in the areas of AIDS, HIV/AIDS co-morbidities and co-infections,
NCDs co-morbidity or multimorbidity of infectious HIV/AIDS-associated implementation science, and
diseases and non-communicable diseases, and one HIV/AIDS-associated data science. While the
health, climate and health. The aim is to support applications received were processed by the NIH
research that further improves our understanding of through full peer review and selection, the funding of
disease mechanisms, presentation and progression the successful projects remains uncertain as a result
and informs innovative prevention and treatment of the US funding cuts and Executive Orders.
strategies that are likely to be efficacious, cost-
effective, affordable, potentially sustainable, and SAMRC-ANRS Partnership to
acceptable to the key stakeholders in Africa. The Support Tuberculosis Research
programme also aims to support collaboration Initiated in 2024, the SAMRC–ANRS-MIE (Agence
between researchers in South Africa and the UK as Nationale du Recherche du SIDA, Maladies
well as scientists from other African countries and to Infectieuses Emergentes, France) TB Research
strengthen research capacity by supporting training Partnership has moved from planning into full
and mentoring of the next generation of researchers, implementation, with all five approved projects
with a focus on those from previously disadvantaged now underway. The projects focus on cutting-
ethnic groups and institutions. Thirteen new awards edge research on mRNA vaccine strategies; AI-
were made under this programme in 2024, with four powered assessment of pulmonary and subclinical
in NCDs, three in multimorbidity and six in One TB; individualised therapy approaches; innovative
Health. The 10 female and 3 male PIs are from Rhodes screening techniques; and cost-effective case-
University, Stellenbosch University, University of finding approaches. The programme is fostering new
Pretoria, University of Cape Town, University of the collaborations between South African and French
Free State, University of the Witwatersrand, SAMRC, teams, expanding access to research platforms,

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