LifeArc makes multi-million pound investment to support drug discovery in sub-Saharan Africa

LifeArc makes multi-million pound investment to support drug discovery in sub-Saharan Africa

• LifeArc and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are jointly investing £6 million ($7.2 million) to strengthen drug discovery capacity in sub-Saharan Africa.

• The funding is aimed at supporting drug discovery projects led by African scientists, including potential treatments for malaria and new approaches to target tuberculosis.

• The program also addresses challenges in global research equity and aims to foster innovation and strengthen translational research capacity in Africa.

• Under the partnership, LifeArc and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will co-manage five drug discovery projects over three to five years.

London, January 31, 2024
LifeArc, a self-funded not-for-profit medical research organization, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are jointly investing £6 million ($7.2 million) in the Grand Challenges African Drug Discovery Accelerator (GC ADDA) program. Five African drug discovery projects spanning 3-5 years.

Launched in 2018, the Grand Challenge Africa Drug Discovery Program will identify and support exciting new drug discovery projects in Africa, strengthen the continent’s drug discovery capacity and create a project-driven virtual African drug discovery network. was developed for.

In this second phase, LifeArc and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will each invest £3 million to support the next wave of Pan-African Consortium projects, building on the capacity strengthened in the first phase.

Funded projects include research into new therapeutic approaches to malaria. Malaria continues to have a major impact on Africa, causing more than 500,000 deaths in the region.¹ – and a new approach to treating tuberculosis (TB), currently the most deadly infectious disease in the world. All projects are supported by a commitment to building and sustaining drug discovery capabilities and world-class scientists within Africa.

story continues

Dr. Mike Strange, Head of Global Health at LifeArc, commented:Driving innovation in infectious diseases in Africa is a key element of LifeArc’s global health strategy. Co-funding this program with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is an ideal opportunity to support the local scientific community to focus on areas where experience shows us to have the most urgent unmet needs. is. Dedicated to promoting African-led scientific innovation, the program also provides opportunities to support and strengthen Africa’s translational research capacity into the future. ”

Five drug discovery projects in the Grand Challenges Africa Drug Discovery Accelerator program:

• Supporting the Grand Challenges African Drug Discovery Accelerator (GC ADDA) – Led by H3D Foundation – The H3D Foundation and the University of Cape Town H3D Center, established to position Africa as a global player in innovative pharmaceutical research and development by strengthening Africa’s infrastructure and the skills of its scientists, are partnering with the Grand Challenges – Becomes Africa Drug’s main strategic and technical partner. Discovery Project since its founding. The H3D Foundation will lead the formation of the GC ADDA network and collaborate to attract increased investment and strengthen research infrastructure. This network provides a framework to enhance collaboration, share training efforts, and enhance community engagement and public engagement. His four other projects will also receive technical support and training from the H3D Foundation and H3D Centre.

• Pursuing targeted protein degradation for anti-tuberculosis drug development – ​​Professor Eric Strauss, Stellenbosch University – Researchers hope to overcome some of the challenges posed by current tuberculosis treatment approaches that use small molecule drugs to inhibit the activity of essential proteins. Instead, they want to use proteolytic targeting chimeras (PROTACs) that degrade proteins rather than inhibit them. Recent studies have shown that this type of targeted protein degradation (TPD) may be a viable strategy to develop new therapeutic strategies for tuberculosis.

• Discovery of lead candidates for novel antimalarial drugs in Africa – Dr. Richard Amewu of the University of Ghana and Professor Lynn-Marie Birkholz of the University of Pretoria – Current malaria treatments target the parasite during its normal developmental stages, but the development of resistance means that the parasite has a finite lifespan. Also, it usually does not block sending. Researchers across the continent will focus on developing multi-step targeted drugs to help eliminate and eradicate malaria, with the added benefit of blocking transmission.

• Pan-African DMPK (Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics) Center of Excellence – Professor Koren Mashimiremba, African Institute of Biomedical Sciences – A core area of ​​drug development, DMPK helps identify drugs that may be suitable for further development by considering how they are metabolized and processed in the body. A team from the African Institute of Biomedical Sciences in Zimbabwe is building a Pan-African DMPK Center of Excellence by increasing awareness among African researchers and forming a sustainable research network focused on DPMK. We are aiming to establish it.

• African Natural Products Box (AdNPB) Dr. Fidel Nti Kan, University of Buea – Traditional medical practices have a profound impact on the daily lives of people living in Africa, and natural products are often considered sources of medicine or inspiration for discovering new treatments. Researchers at the University of Buea in Cameroon are creating a set of 400 natural products found in Africa to screen for various diseases such as tuberculosis, neglected tropical diseases, viral diseases and malaria. .

Dr. Susan Winks of the H3D Foundation said:: “This investment from LifeArc and BMGF represents a turning point for Africa’s nascent drug discovery research community. Following the example set by the H3D Center at the University of Cape Town, we will accelerate efforts across the continent. We are poised to establish a strong innovation ecosystem with a regional hub of drug discovery excellence.”

Professor Eric Strauss of South Africa’s Stellenbosch University, who is leading the project to explore new approaches to finding a cure for tuberculosis, said: “This is a game-changer for antimicrobial discovery in Africa. It will allow participating researchers to focus their attention on a single problem, expanding their skills and global research footprint in this field. “It will also enable collaboration between multiple groups in different countries.” “This will fast-track the establishment of a new center of excellence in drug discovery in Africa. We are excited about the potential that funding will unlock new and innovative solutions to reduce the burden of tuberculosis and malaria in Africa.”

Dr Richard Amewu from the University of Ghana, who is leading the discovery of new anti-malarial treatments, said: “This funding is building critical infrastructure and human resource capacity for drug discovery research in Ghana and is supporting the development of a drug discovery hub in Ghana, building directly on the current malaria project.Africa Africans are disproportionately affected by most diseases, including malaria, and investments like this allow us to contribute to global efforts to address the health needs of Africans. We hope to provide an early lead towards advances in drug discovery, while also building capacity that can be applied to other diseases and supporting drug discovery research in sub-Saharan Africa. It will also enable us to join forces and combine our expertise and share resources to find innovative solutions to treat the disease that is prevalent in Africa.” Co-leads of the Malaria Project Professor Lynmarie Birkholz, from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, said the project was important to help eliminate malaria on the African continent.

References

1. World Health Organization regional data and trends: Global Malaria Report 2022 https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/WHO-UCN-GMP-2022.08

For more press information, please contact us below.

andrew stewart
LifeArc Communications Director

Andrew.stewart@lifearc.org
07970293826

Note to editor

About LifeArc

LifeArc is a self-funded, nonprofit medical research organization and charity. We help take scientific ideas out of the lab and turn them into medical breakthroughs that can change patients’ lives. We have been doing this work for more than 25 years, resulting in five approved medicines, including the cancer drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda).^®), lecanemab (Rekenbi) for Alzheimer’s disease, and a diagnostic drug for antibiotic resistance.

Our team is an expert in drug and diagnostic discovery, technology transfer, and intellectual property. Our work is in translational science, bridging academic research and clinical development, providing funding, research and expertise, all with a clear and unwavering commitment to positively impacting patient lives. going. LifeArc is committed to investing £1.3 billion by 2030 in areas of high unmet medical need.

LifeArc is a company limited by guarantee (registered in England and Wales under number 2698321) and a charity (registered in England and Wales under number 1015243 and in Scotland under number SC037861).

To learn more about our work, please visit www.lifearc.org or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

About H3D Foundation

The H3D Foundation (www.h3dfoundation.org) was established in 2019 with the aim of creating absorptive capacity to attract, build and retain skilled African scientists in innovative medicine research and development. This will help Africa secure the skills it needs over the next decade as it aims to become more self-reliant and a global player in innovative pharmaceutical research and development. The H3D Foundation also aims to counter misinformation about research and science, particularly in Africa, and to bridge the gap between laboratory and clinical activities, as well as innovation and access in Africa. We aim to be a platform and trusted voice for evidence-based global health. Africa. In addition, the H3D Foundation will support the Holistic Drug Discovery and Development (H3D) Center (www.H3D.uct.ac.za), particularly in relation to capacity building and strengthening to enable and unlock the potential of sustainable drug discovery. It was established to complement the activities. Drug discovery and development activities across Africa.