Read the Conversation
Conversation highlights:
- Bridging Research and Product Development- DSI is closing the gap in the “missing middle” by building complete product development value chains.
- Harnessing Indigenous and High-Tech Strengths- The department’s portfolio spans from indigenous plant-based medicines to nuclear medicine.
- Building Capacity and Regional Networks- Partnerships are strengthening local manufacturing, skills training, and biopharma readiness across Africa.
- Responsible Data and Genomic Leadership- Leveraging South Africa’s digital infrastructure to ethically link genomic data with patient records, positioning the country as a hub for data-driven health research.
- Driving Access through Collaboration- Health innovation must balance business and social impact. South Africa is proving its capacity to lead responsibly on the global stage.
EF: What are you pushing forward with Health Innovation in the Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation? What opportunities do you identify?
GL: We’re working across the full range, from indigenous plants to nuclear medicine and everything in between. Early in 2006, we recognized South Africa’s strength in basic research and clinical trials, but also a gap in the middle ground. We built product development value chains to identify our strengths and gaps. While it began in South Africa, our global connections naturally extend its reach.
At first, our focus was on vaccines. Over time, that expanded to include drug discovery and development. Diagnostics are now taking the lead, while medical devices are catching up.
Regarding nuclear medicine, we’re one of six global suppliers of medical-grade radioactive isotopes. We’re now exploring how to build around that capability.
On the plant side, South Africa has one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity in the world. We’re exploring how indigenous knowledge can be leveraged to develop new medicines. So, it’s really the whole spectrum. Based on the value chain, our focus is on what it takes to deliver final products to support South Africans in achieving healthier lives.
It began with HIV and TB, but now includes cancers, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Last week, we launched a partnership with Illumina for South Africa’s 110,000 Human Genome Project. With limited global genome data and South Africa’s oldest human genome, we can ethically and scientifically advance research while linking product development to local manufacturing.
EF: How do you define the projects you are going to work on, and how do you select and assign resources?
GL: We partnered with the South African Medical Research Council to create the Strategic Health Innovation Partnership, a product development partnership. We also have strong international connections. Our linkages with universities worldwide are strong, and South Africa itself boasts excellent universities that facilitate partnerships.
We started with HIV vaccines, then moved on to malaria. We launched the South African Malaria Initiative because it’s one of the few insect-borne diseases that affect most mosquito species across Africa. We have breeding facilities to study the mechanisms of malaria and how it works. That work eventually led us naturally toward drug discovery in South Africa.
H3D is a drug discovery and development unit at the University of Cape Town. Locally, they first created antimalarial drugs before advancing them to clinical trials. We work with several organizations. Discovery has continued to expand thanks to these global university networks and research partnerships.
One of the main questions we ask is: to what extent will this help a woman who used her last bit of money to get to the clinic, and what are we actually doing for her? That’s why we began investing heavily in TB diagnostics. It’s helped expand researchers’ abilities and challenged them to do the real work. We encouraged them to ask, “What do I need to figure out to get to a product?”
Two major stories in South Africa today are the mRNA hub and medical device development. When the promised mRNA technology transfer didn’t occur, local researchers used published data to create their own. It’s now being shared with 15 companies worldwide, proving our capability.
On the medical device side, we’ve demonstrated our capabilities before, as seen in the case of the CT scan, for example. There’s an entire industry around that, and we’re exploring what more is possible. Again, the question is how this work can help people in rural areas, not only in major cities. It’s about building on the strengths of our researchers.
EF: What is your perception of working with different stakeholders on the frontlines, and how can we increase public-private partnerships?
GL: Biovac is launching an oral cholera vaccine as clinical trials begin. This will be the first time we handle the full process, from development to production and distribution locally in Africa. While the government is a shareholder, we're also focused on building capacity and understanding what's needed to sustain it.
One outcome is the creation of a biopharmaceutical workforce training app that guides students and early-career professionals through real manufacturing steps to ensure industry readiness. We already have trainees from across the continent using our facilities to build that workforce.
The initiative began with the Gates Foundation’s training collaboration, later joined by the German government and the EU. Biovac is itself a partnership involving the Gates Foundation, ELMA Philanthropies, and other funders and major donor organizations. Agreements with Sanofi Vaccines and Pfizer strengthened Biovac’s capacity, leading to local manufacturing. These networks connect universities and industry in South Africa and are expanding across Africa.
We’ve followed a similar path with the therapeutic side, particularly with small molecules. We've strengthened our networks with universities and industry, as one of Africa's biggest challenges is its dependence on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients. We're building that capacity locally in South Africa. It's not just one company; it's a shared network with universities. A big part of this is training, helping students move from creating two milliliters in a university lab to scaling up to 200 liters for API production. This training model is open to the rest of Africa.
We're also working closely with organizations to build capacity. It's the network that needs to be built. There's a political component to it, but also a scientific component that merges to foster a common understanding.
EF: What is the importance within the department of science and innovation, and the role that your department has within Health Innovation?
GL: In South Africa, the Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation oversees research across the innovation chain, working with the Departments of Trade, Industry, and Health to align funding with national priorities and build sustainable industries. We’re now identifying the incentives needed to drive this further, as science, technology, and trade converge.
A 2018 study showed that the government funds over a third of the country’s health research. This positions us as a funder, not just a recipient, giving us a stronger voice in shaping priorities and defining our vision.
We continue to invest in infrastructure, most notably through NuMeRI at the University of Pretoria—a state-of-the-art nuclear medicine facility linked to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Now designated as a Ray of Hope center, it expands global collaboration and strengthens Africa’s place in advanced medical research.
EF: What would your advice be to both the public and private sectors to increase access whilst continuing innovation in the country?
GL: We’ve proven we can partner with private organizations to make treatments more accessible. The real question is how to ensure Africa is part of the latest technological advances. It’s a matter of finding how to meet business goals while still putting people’s well-being first.
It makes for some interesting discussions with a pharmaceutical organization. South Africa has a very large HIV-positive population, and access to clinical trials for these individuals is one of the key goals for many pharmaceutical companies. They aim to determine whether Africa is their target market and understand the potential impact it could have. One of our negotiation points is that if they wish to conduct clinical trials here, access must be part of the deal. We always look for ways to work towards multinational pharma in order to expand access. What’s exciting now is that we’re starting to explore CAR-T technology and its potential applications.
EF: What are some of the turning points in your career and life in this position?
GL: It was a fun journey, that’s all I can say. The fact that we can now show tangible results of things made and developed in Africa is something I’m really proud of. We’ve put health innovation in Africa on the map, and that’s what matters.
The African Health Research and Innovation Fund Forum recently took place in Cape Town. It’s about funders talking to each other to determine how they can best support Africa. The purpose of this discussion is to examine various funding instruments. What's interesting is that there's a lot of interest from the East. We need to start examining how the world collectively approaches funding solutions.
EF: Do you have a message you would like us to deliver to the sector to showcase your commitments and efforts?
GL: One of the highlights is that we’re working directly with industry. Big pharma companies collaborate with us because they recognize the value in working with individuals who truly understand Africa and its future direction. Collaboration and building strong networks are what really matter.
