Former SAMRC President and leading South African immunologist appointed to US’ top Covid-19 vaccine trial body
Cape Town | Former President of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Professor Malegapuru William Makgoba has been appointed by the United States government to serve on its Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) for the first COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials.
Makgoba, a leading immunologist and revered public health advocate in South Africa and globally, joins nine scientists, physicians, ethicists and biostatisticians from the US, and two experts from Brazil and the United Kingdom (UK) who have been selected based on their expertise and experience. Under the auspices of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the 12-member expert panel will review and monitor the US government-supported clinical trials of candidate Covid-19 vaccines.
The NIAID is one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – its mission is to conduct basic and applied research to better understand, treat, and prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases.
According to the DSMB Charter, the panel will be responsible for ensuring the safety of participants, the efficacy and the immunogenicity of the candidate vaccine being tested or on trial and it is the final structure to pronounce on vaccine approval. Its recommendations will have important implications globally on public health and in particular, the Covid-19 response including in South Africa. “The fundamental responsibility of the DSMB is to assure the ongoing safety of study participants and to monitor the study for crossing of boundaries related to efficacy”, reads a clause in the charter.
The panel is independent of investigators, organizations, and institutions conducting the vaccine clinical trials and has the authority to recommend that a trial be stopped early should there be concerns of participant safety.
“ Prof Makgoba’s appointment comes at the time when finding a safe and efficacious vaccine is the ultimate goal to contain this global emergency, a vaccine is the only way to significantly impact and to change the course of the Covid-19 pandemic,” says Prof Glenda Gray SAMRC President and CEO.
In South Africa, the first Covid-19 vaccine trial is currently underway – the South African Ox1Cov-19 Vaccine VIDA-Trial aims to find a vaccine that will prevent infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
But Makgoba’s ascension to the US’ top body in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic is no surprise, especially to those in the scientific community – his credentials speak for themselves. Above his traceable work as a trailblazing immunologist, he has been hailed for his fearlessness in speaking out on behalf of science and scientists.
Acclaimed for his challenge to AIDS denialism in South Africa as the then SAMRC President, Makgoba also exposed and went on to improve the treatment of mentally ill patients in the country. In the same period, he demonstrated through science that people, particularly young men and women were dying from HIV.
His critique of unscientific thinking as a shaper of national policy was unflinching and unequivocal – he took the lead in countering what he called “pseudoscience” and condemned politically motivated interventions in the pandemic. “Makgoba has been our moral compass for South Africa for over three decades, he is a tireless champion and defender of science, in this case: health science; and human health; and engaging in difficult debates, inspiring others to take a stance against injustice,” added Gray.
Because of his great courage, tenacity and candor is Makgoba was appointed as the first Health Ombudsman in South Africa in 2016. His responsibilities include addressing lapses and malpractices in the health setting with a view to protecting the rights of patients and users of the health care system. It was in this position, that Makgoba proved his mettle again, as he led an investigation into the Life Healthcare Esidemeni Scandal, involving the deaths of 143 mentally ill patients from causes including starvation and neglect. He also serves as the current acting Chairperson of the Eskom Board.
Makgoba successfully led the transformation and merger of two universities in KwaZulu-Natal, establishing the University of KwaZulu-Natal as the most transformed higher education institution in South Africa. This experience led to his appointment as Chair of the Ministerial Oversight Committee on Transformation in South African public universities.
His journey as a science crusader and a proponent of transformation has seen him gather many accolades including the Presidential Order of Mapungubwe – a recognition for his stance against AIDS denialism and contribution to science and medicine in addition to his herculean efforts at institutional transformation. A nominee of the coveted John Maddox Prize, he is also a recipient of the SAMRC Scientific Merit Awards: Presidential Award which is conferred to scientists who have made exceptional lifelong contributions to medical research and public health.