Walter Sisulu University (WSU) and the North-West University (NWU) jointly announced “very promising first results” from preclinical trials on a new COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
The WSU Medical School has a rich history of producing quality medical doctors and nurses for the South African health system.
The NWU, on the hand, has over the years established a strong reputation in drug development and research, as well as in the training of healthcare professionals.
The DNA vaccine candidate was developed by Prof Markus Depfenhart, who holds extraordinary appointments as professor at both universities.
DNA vaccines are relatively inexpensive and straight forward to manufacture, can be adjusted quickly to address mutations, and offer a simple yet effective means of inducing broad-based immunity. As they are stable at ambient temperature without a cold chain for storage and shipping, they are a desirable vaccination platform, almost ideal for all conditions on our continent.
The trials, which are being conducted at the Preclinical Drug Development Platform at the NWU, are well advanced and promising.
The first independent analyses, which a third university performed, revealed very promising preliminary results.
The trial and the analyses will continue over the following weeks.
The vice-chancellor and principal of WSU, Prof Rusheiella Songca, said they were excited but it is about much more than a vaccine candidate.
“It’s about building capacity on the African continent, collaborating, and installing confidence in our scientists that everything seems impossible until you achieve it.
“We are learning, by the day, every step of the process. We look forward to a strong future collaboration resulting from this initiative and strengthening bonds in the Pan-African research and innovation community. We can no longer afford to work in isolation from one another on the continent – we need links and partnerships to grow and succeed,” she said.
Vice-chancellor of the NWU, Prof Dan Kgwadi, added that they were very excited by this milestone that the NWU-WSU partnership had achieved. He said they were looking forward to working with more institutions in South Africa and across the continent to ensure efficient and effective responses to other health challenges.
“The collaboration with WSU and other institutions on our continent serves to demonstrate our commitment towards achieving our dream – to be an internationally recognised university in Africa, distinguished for engaged scholarship, social responsiveness and an ethic of care,” said Kgwadi.
He said they continued to prove that the foundations for the NWU Medical School were in place and ready to be harnessed further. Kgwadi added that they remained confident that the leadership and guidance of their chancellor, Dr Anna Mokgokong, and the NWU council under the leadership of Dr Bismark Tyobeka, would steer them towards even more positive developments that would benefit the rest of our continent.”
