Bridging the Gap in Global Health Innovation: South African Malaria Initiative Case Study

1. Bridging the Gap in Global Health Innovation - from Needs to Access The South African Malaria Initiative A Case Study E Jane Morris http://www.acgt.co.za/sami

2. Scale of the malaria problem • 107 endemic countries with 3.2 billion people at risk (40% of world’s population) • At least 1 million people die in Africa each year from malaria • Over 200 million clinical malaria cases in Africa each year • Over 4 million people in SA live in malaria areas (10% of the population) • Almost 80 million cases each year in the Southern Africa malaria control area • Climate change will increase population at risk in Southern Africa fourfold by 2020

3. Global distribution of malaria risk Source: World Malaria Report 2005

4. Current situation Research Development Disease, patients, clinical trial sites, market Production Testing

5. Building for the future: Research Development Disease, patients, clinical trial sites, market Production Testing

6. The South African Malaria Initiative • A network of researchers from 16 institutions in South Africa • Seed funding provided by SA Department of Science and Technology • Focusing on development of drugs, diagnostics, and molecular epidemiology • Supported by core expertise groups • Capacity building and training a key component

7. The discovery pipeline in SAMI Capacity building IP Networking Targets Leads Products Biomarkers Diagnostics Supporting Core Expertise Functional Genomics Structural Informatics Medicinal Chemistry Anti-malarial assays Genetic manipulation of parasites Functional Expression of malaria proteins

8. From Knowledge to Innovationin SAMI Discovery Lab testing/ validation ADMETox, Early stage trials Clinical development, regulatory approval Production & marketing Capacity for production of generics. Facility for diagnostics being established Being developed in SAMI Establishment of HTS platform under consideration Pre-clinical platform under discussion Clinical trials possible, lack regulatory capacity

9. From Knowledge to Innovationin SAMI Discovery Lab testing/ validation Early stage trials Clinical development, regulatory approval Production & marketing Need for international collaboration Need for funding Need for business partnerships

10. Early successes • Drug delivery system able to reverse chloroquine resistance • Provisional patent covering anti-malarial activity of a drug registered for other uses • Novel RDT ready for field screening by mid-2008 • Novel in vitro HTS assay validated • Drug target accepted for in silico virtual screening (WISDOM)

11. Our strengths • Excellent base of cutting edge research and facilities to draw on • Networked approach makes best use of available equipment, facilities and expertise • Investing in people and activities not bricks and mortar • Unique holdings of live mosquito cultures • Access to field sites and collaborations in many African countries. An African focus on an African problem!