Pan Africa Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK) Center of Excellence

Collen Masimirembwa of the African Institute of Biomedical Science and Technology in Zimbabwe will establish a pan-African center of excellence focused on DMPK to support drug discovery and development in Africa. The center will perform DMPK assays and modeling to support two specific ongoing projects, one on antimalarial drug discovery led by Richard Amewu of the University of Ghana in Ghana with Lyn-Marie Birkholtz of the University of Pretoria in South Africa, and one on anti-TB drug development led by Erick Strauss of Stellenbosch University in South Africa. The center will establish a DMPK research network linking institutes and experts across the African continent to broadly support the discovery and development of safe and efficacious drugs for African populations. It will also provide training in DMPK for scientists through an annual workshop.