[ad_1]
In just over a year after the onset of COVID-19, scientists have successfully developed vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus for global use.
Three main factors contributed to this extraordinary achievement.
An unprecedented collaboration between international scientists. Second, scientists were able to get extremely detailed images of viral proteins and the human proteins they interact with, right down to the positions of atoms.
Third, the expertise and infrastructure, developed over many years, involving tens of thousands of scientists supported by national governments and substantial private investment. The development of this skilled workforce has only been possible because companies have agreed to sponsor their best researchers to solve acute problems by providing appropriate tools and resources.
The African contribution to this massive achievement turned out to be quite low. African researchers continue to face a lack of sustainable and accessible funding, infrastructure and expertise.
At the end of May, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that South Africa “was developing a local vaccine manufacturing plan to produce vaccines locally through strategic partnerships and technology transfer”. The goal, he said, was to cover the entire vaccine production value chain. He said that Africa wants to do things on its own and that
we also need to examine how the vaccine manufacturing capacity developed during COVID-19 can be reused for future production of other vaccines and related technologies.
In this article, we describe how the three-year START (Synchrotron Techniques for African Research and Technology) program – funded by a grant from the UK Research and Innovations’ Science and Technology Facilities Council – has substantially prepared South Africa’s ability to do so. this type of work. . He has trained students and postdoctoral research assistants at eight South African universities and the country’s National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD). It also provided access to the UK’s national synchrotron, Diamond Light Source. Funded with a grant from the Global Challenges Research Fund of £ 3.7million (approx. US $ 5million), the initiative provided an exceptional combination of expertise and experimental resources.
Innovative technologies
Understanding biological systems is essential to the prosperity and perhaps the survival of the human race. Without it, we are threatened by disease, energy and food insecurity, pollution and climate change. The study of biological macromolecules – such as proteins at atomic resolution – allows us to develop drugs, vaccines, herbicides and pesticides. And it helps us design non-polluting industrial processes to create the chemicals we need.
The branch of science that deals with this is called structural biology.
Structural biologists discover the intricacies of protein structures using very bright synchrotron radiation in a technique called X-ray crystallography or electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM). These structures form the basis for the development of new drugs or vaccines to stop disease. In particular, the newly developed, Nobel Prize-winning cryo-EM technique was essential for the development of COVID-19 vaccines.
However, Africa remains largely a spectator in the race to build these innovative technologies despite START showing how it could be done. The program has produced an extraordinary impact with a relatively modest investment over a short period of time. It has sparked a sea change in structural biology research in Africa, demonstrating what is needed and that it works. The existing research centers and networks have been strengthened and new ones developed. Young career scientists have gained confidence and skills through international collaborations, mentoring, proposal writing and data analysis.
South African groups have regularly collected data in synchrotrons and electron microscopes to increase our understanding of potential treatments. These include SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), snakebite venom, HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, human papillomavirus, cardiovascular disease, as well as equine disease. Work has also been carried out to create industrial enzymes for the manufacture of basic drugs and chemicals.
NICD’s Structural Biology Lab, for example, has focused on understanding the antibody response to communicable diseases such as HIV and COVID-19 to guide the search for effective vaccines. In addition, NICD has developed structural biology projects to understand how antibodies recognize and stop the worrisome variants of SARS-CoV-2.
The START grant has contributed to:
-
research articles in leading international journals,
-
the development of a small but growing network of suitably equipped laboratories across South Africa,
-
dynamic international collaborations and
-
many early-career scientists trained in world-class structural biology, including synchrotron and cryo-EM techniques.
Unfortunately, the funding for START has ended.
Now what?
The national government must build on the foundations of the START program. Only a sustained national policy will ensure that structural biology can realize world-class science and develop relevant research across Africa.
Structural biology remains a niche science on the continent, largely ignored by infrastructure roadmaps. Ramaphosa’s vision for African vaccines must be supported by a national strategy for structural biology. The objective would be to grow the scientific community. This, in turn, would have a massive impact on vaccine and drug development as well as other regional challenges.
Education, training and infrastructure in protein crystallography and cryo-EM need to grow dramatically from a tiny base.
The structural biology community needs a modern cryo-EM center in South Africa. This would require substantial investments beyond the means of higher education institutions in critical situations.
The support of the international community is crucial.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how important it is to have national and international approaches to research and development with access to the right kind of world-class equipment, training and expertise.
Vaccines must be developed in Africa against diseases that occur in Africa. It makes financial sense and emphasizes Africa’s problem solving for Africa. The World Bank has estimated that the slow rollout of COVID-19 vaccines could cost the continent $ 14 billion per month. Even this pales in comparison to the long-term cost of malaria, tuberculosis, HIV and other poverty-related diseases.
The required steps involve:
-
Local infrastructure and capacity. The infrastructure set up by the START program must be extended to national reference laboratories, which are sustainably funded, well equipped and staffed with experts.
-
Capacity retention. Early career researchers trained in South Africa should be retained to avoid loss of knowledge and expertise. The need to offer all young researchers opportunities to further develop their careers is obvious. But this cannot be done without growth. It is therefore urgent to put in place policies that stimulate the environment for research in structural biology and create new positions. This is essential to ensure that diversity, fresh ideas and new approaches relevant to Africa are introduced into the local and international scientific community.
-
Access to international infrastructure. Synchrotrons, neutron sources and cryo-EM facilities around the world are open to African researchers. The challenge is to produce world-class research and competitive proposals to access it. Funding for this must come from the South African Treasury. This should be reinforced by membership in international organizations.
START has enhanced the skills and enthusiasm of South African bioscientists. They saw the value of a structural approach in the design of drugs for African diseases. The program has opened doors for international cooperation and technology that Africa cannot afford. Young researchers have embarked on careers in structural biology, hoping to exercise their skills locally. Local research on vaccines and drugs has started.
Ramaphosa’s desire to develop vaccines in South Africa could be realized by building on the foundations that have been laid. But only if there are substantial and sustained investments in human resources and infrastructure.
Rebekka Stredwick of Diamond Light Source also contributed to this article. She was responsible for creating content for the START website .
Bryan Trevor Sewell receives funding from SA MRC, GCRF START
Jeremy David Woodward received funding from GCRF START.
Lauren B. Arendse receives funding from The Future Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR) scholarship program, a partnership between the African Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society funded by the UK government’s Global Challenges Research Fund.
Thandeka Moyo-Gwete receives funding from the GCRF START program.
Wolf-Dieter Schubert has received funding from the GCRF START program.
By Bryan Trevor Sewell, Principal Investigator (Former Director of the Electron Microscope Unit and Professor in the Department of Integrated Biomedical Sciences), University of Cape Town and
Jeremy David Woodward, Scientific Director, University of Cape Town and
Lauren B. Arendse, FLAIR Fellow, Center for Drug Discovery and Development (H3D), University of Cape Town and
Thandeka Moyo-Gwete, Senior Medical Scientist, National Institute of Communicable Diseases and
Wolf-Dieter Schubert, Professor of Biochemistry, University of Pretoria
Source link
