Ghanaian researchers are to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate the development of monoclonal antibodies, laboratory produced proteins that target specific disease markers, for diagnostics against malaria and Mpox under a £2 million research programme aimed at advancing vaccine and pharmaceutical innovation in the country.
The projects, involving research institutions and pharmaceutical companies, will also explore child-friendly malaria medicines, locally produced vaccines, herbal treatments and snake-venom antiserum, according to a statement issued by the National Vaccine Institute (NVI) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
The projects are being supported under the PharmaVax Ghana programme, with Ghanaian partners contributing an additional €425,000 towards their implementation.
The grants were presented at a “Research Meets Manufacturing” ceremony in Accra on Wednesday, August 19, co-hosted by the NVI and GIZ.
The AI project is being led by the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACBIP) at the University of Ghana, in partnership with DEK Vaccines Ltd, minoHealth AI Labs Ltd and INCAS Diagnostics & Services Ltd.
It received €300,000 in grant funding, with the partners contributing a further €40,000. The project will use a Ghanaian AI platform to design and scale up monoclonal antibodies and diagnostics for Mpox and malaria, while strengthening local manufacturing capacity.
Another major project, involving the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and Atlantic Lifesciences Ltd, received €500,000, the largest individual grant.
The project will generate stability data to support regulatory approval and reliable local production of tetanus-diphtheria vaccines and tetanus antitoxin.
At the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), researchers working with Aspee Pharmaceuticals Ltd and the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission received €300,000 to optimise a locally developed herbal pain medicine for scalable local manufacturing.
The University of Cape Coast, in collaboration with Kash Chemist Ltd, received €100,000 to develop a fast-dissolving oral tablet for malaria treatment in children, with the aim of improving accurate dosing and treatment adherence.
The Centre for Plant Medicine Research, together with the Dodowa Health Research Centre and Atlantic Lifesciences Ltd, received €340,000 for two projects. One will assess the safety and efficacy of a locally developed herbal product for prostate health through a clinical trial, while the other will generate stability data for a locally produced snake-venom antiserum.
The CSIR-Water Research Institute, in partnership with Kantanka Herbal Pharmaceuticals and Research Centre Ltd, received €125,000 to generate evidence on the safety and effectiveness of herbal treatments for alcohol-related liver disease.
The Central University, working with Ernest Chemists Ltd, received €250,000 to develop and validate a standardised herbal treatment for hypertension for large-scale local production.
The projects were selected from 43 proposals by an independent nine-member Ghanaian expert committee, which assessed them on technical merit, public benefit, participation of local manufacturers and sustainability beyond the project period.
The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, said the initiative would help transform scientific discoveries into medicines and vaccines capable of improving lives.
The Chief Executive Officer of the NVI, Dr Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey, said Ghana had the scientific expertise and growing pharmaceutical industry needed to develop and manufacture health solutions locally.
The PharmaVax Ghana programme is jointly funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union (EU) and forms part of the Team Europe Initiative on Manufacturing and Access to Vaccines, Medicines and Health Technologies in Africa.
For more news, join The Chronicle Newspaper channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBSs55E50UqNPvSOm2z
