· GSK and Novartis have announced their collaboration to support Africa in high-quality scientific research in genetic diversity.
· The research will focus on investigating the link between genetic diversity across different regions in Africa and its potential impact on response to drug therapeutics.
GSK and Novartis have announced their collaboration to support Africa in high-quality scientific research in genetic diversity.The research will focus on investigating the link between genetic diversity across different regions in Africa and its potential impact on response to drug therapeutics.
The Project Africa Genomic Research Approach for Diversity and Optimising Therapeutics (GRADIENT), has a combined funding commitment of USD 3.6 million over five years. It has called for proposals from African researchers to submit on the relevance of African genetic diversity to the treatment of malaria and tuberculosis. African Researchers from universities, science councils, and other public research organizations across Africa are invited to express ‘intent to submit’ by March 1, 2021.
Elaborating on the initiative, Pauline Williams, Senior Vice President Global Health Pharma at GSK said that human genetics was a central focus of its R&D strategy. The vast genetic diversity in Africa led to varied responses to treatments. The goal of Project Africa GRADIENT is to optimize treatment responses for malaria and tuberculosis, two infectious diseases that affect African populations.
Lutz Hegemann, M.D., Chief Operating Officer for Global Health at Novartis said that Novartis was committed to improving the quality and length of lives of patients across the world. To meet this goal, the company seeks to adopt innovative ways to improve the standard of care where possible. The Project also aligns with their commitment to strengthen scientific capabilities in lower-resource settings. The project offers opportunities for training young African scientists in the use of advanced research methodologies and mentoring on drug development.
The three funding mechanisms of the Project includes A limited number of fellowships in academic institutions of global excellence to collect and analyse data on determinants of drug response, Fellowships Investigator-sponsored research, and seed Fund. The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) will administer the project, and a Joint Steering Committee will oversee the review of submitted proposals.
