Leveraging the Power of Public-Private Partnerships to Transform the Genomics Research and Drug Discovery Landscape in Nigeria
I first met Prof. Salako, the Director General of the prestigious Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) in 2019. His influence was pivotal in establishing the NCD-GHS Consortium (The Nigeria 100K study), showcasing leadership honed through decades of experience. You see, doing scientific research and any form of life science research and development (R&D) in Nigeria and much of Africa, is difficult. Scientific R&D is capital and time intensive, and in Nigeria where power is intermittent, the cost of R&D skyrockets, which can be discouraging. In Nigeria where the Federal R&D budget is a mere 0.14% of GDP¹, being a federally funded institution carrying out R&D in the country is daunting.
Enter NIMR, Prof Salako, and the many brilliant minds at the institution. They form a group I consider to be creative scientists, scientists who epitomize innovation despite limited resources. NIMR stands as a model of scientific ingenuity, transcending financial constraints to contribute significantly to global scientific advancements. Many people who lived in Nigeria, particularly Lagos, Africa’s largest city, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic would remember NIMR and their free testing centers. They were also among the coalition that sequenced the first COVID-19 index case in Nigeria — one of the first in the world to do so.
During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a global shortage of PCR tests, leading to bottlenecks in curbing the virus’s spread. One day, I received an email from NIMR to support the validation of a new PCR test they had developed. At the time, in my previous company, we were arguably among the top three testing centers in the country, whether public or private, and we had imported some of the best-in-class COVID-19 PCR tests including a brand by Thermo Fisher (one of the world’s largest scientific organizations). We ran a head to head analysis, and NIMR’s test proved to be as good as the best! They would go on to sell that reagent to a buyer. I am not sure how many public research institutions exist in Nigeria that innovate products and sell them — the full science-business cycle of innovation and sale. NIMR has also developed tests for Yellow Fever, Lassa Fever, Monkeypox, and currently has a few other tests in development.
One cannot overstate the importance of R&D that leads to new products designed with the local context of the countries they are intended for. Also, Nigeria’s population exceeds 200 million people, and developing some of the resources we consume to keep the population healthy, such as diagnostic tests, has many advantages. These include improving the economy as a result of reduced importation and ensuring that in the event of catastrophes or public health emergencies where resource allocation on a global level is tight and borders are shut, that we have a way to survive. This way, where one is at that time is not the reason they are unable to survive.
In addition to its R&D innovations, NIMR serves as a regional center for HIV and Hepatitis B management in Nigeria. They have set up the NIMR Medical Research Center, established a Clinical Trial Management Unit with active clinical trials ongoing, and a well equipped diagnostic and research laboratory. With multiple national and international collaborations, they have found a way to fund research with approximately 90% of their grants coming from external sources as opposed to the federal government.
It should, therefore, not come as a surprise that NIMR was Syndicate Bio’s first reference for partnership in Nigeria. We are daring to be ambitious in this partnership and announcing that we will work on genetically-validated drug discovery, with both parties having economic interest in successful programs. The focus of our work together will cover both infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases. Our work will leverage some of the capabilities at NIMR including their extensive network of collaborators, the NIMR medical research center and clinical trials unit, and their well equipped laboratories. Our work will also leverage NIMR’s impressive ethics body as well as Nigeria’s National Health Research Ethics Committee (NHREC) to ensure the utmost ethical standards are adhered to. In addition, NIMR would be given custodianship of all informed consent samples from our studies ensuring that primary samples do not leave Nigeria.
Our work together does not stop there. Today, whilst I hold a PhD in Cancer Biology from Queen Mary University of London and a Masters degree in Human Molecular Genetics from the Imperial College London, I started my scientific career and education in Nigeria, where I studied Genetics and Biotechnology at the Bachelor of Science level. Although my love for genetics and science started in Nigeria, I never used an automated pipette until my Masters in the UK. I was book smart but lacked lab experience. This was nearly two decades ago, so things have definitely improved, but not nearly enough.
However, I have also experienced how many of the people who worked in our labs in Nigeria in my previous company are now doing PhDs in prestigious universities globally. This shows that Nigerian scientists are as capable as the best, and some of them will come back to build science businesses or educate the next generation of scientists, just like myself and Dr Jumi (our CSO) did. Furthermore, recognizing the need for hands-on training and skill enhancement, we are collaborating with NIMR to establish a training program for young scientists in Nigeria. This initiative aims to provide foundational knowledge in molecular biology, genetics and genomic techniques, fostering the next generation of scientists and innovators in the country. We will announce more on this subsequently.
References
- Doris Dokua Sasu (2023, January 16th) Gross domestic expenditure on research and development (GERD) as a share of GDP in Nigeria from 2020 to 2022 [Infographic]. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1345422/gross-domestic-expenditure-on-randd-as-percentage-of-gdp-in-nigeria/
About Syndicate Bio
Syndicate Bio is a platform biotech driving genomics and precision medicine initiatives across the world’s most diverse regions. Syndicate Bio uses large-scale partnerships with governments, pharma companies, and other stakeholders to drive local precision medicine impact while creating powerful datasets that can be used for drug discovery and development.
About Nigeria Institute of Medical Research
The Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) is a reputable point of reference in basic, applied and operational research for the promotion of national health and development in Nigeria. NIMR plays a vital role in developing viable structures for the dissemination of research findings, and providing the enabling environment and facilities for health research and training in cooperation with the Federal and State ministries of health and in collaboration with universities, allied institutions and organized private sector nationally and internationally.
To read the full announcement, click here.
