The EDCTP Association continued to work with a wide range of partners in 2024, contributing to multiple global initiatives.

Thanks to an EDCTP partnership with the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), members of EDCTP’s regional Networks of Excellence have benefited from intensive training in the principles and practice of high-tech biomanufacturing.

A lack of manufacturing capacity for medical interventions in sub-Saharan Africa, including vaccines and biological therapeutics such as monoclonal antibodies, is one key factor limiting access of sub-Saharan African populations to new medical products. To address this issue, many efforts are now being made to build manufacturing capacity in the region.

In recognition of the growing importance of genomic and other technologies, in 2022 EDCTP signed a memorandum of understanding with the ICGEB, an intergovernmental organisation that aims to widen access to new technologies through research, training and technology transfer. The agreement covered three areas – bringing genomic technologies into EDCTP-funded networks, joint work on capacity-building, and co-funding of projects.

One of the fruits of this collaboration was an intensive two-week training programme in biomanufacturing for representatives from the four EDCTP-funded regional Networks of Excellence. Researchers and technicians received personalised training in areas such as Quality Management Systems (QMS) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), and gained end-to-end insights into biosimilar production.

Held at ICGEB’s Biotechnology Development Unit in Trieste, Italy, the training has provided a major boost to biomanufacturing expertise within the EDCTP networks. As part of the collaboration between EDCTP and ICGEB, in May 2024, Dr Thomas Nyirenda, Head of the EDCTP Association’s Africa Office, participated in a seminar organised by ICGEB International. Dr Nyirenda highlighted EDCTP’s efforts to strengthen the clinical trials ecosystem within Africa.

EDCTP was instrumental in the creation of the Pan-African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR). In November 2024, EDCTP and PACTR co-hosted a virtual workshop, to unveil changes to the platform and to stimulate discussions on its use and future development.

Other key activities during the year included a relaunch of the EDCTP Alumni Network web platform, with a refreshed look and feel and enhanced functionality, and planning for the Twelfth EDCTP Forum, in Kigali, Rwanda, in June 2025.

On his first mission to South Africa, Mr Marc Lemaître, Director General of the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), visited Cape Town, South Africa, accompanied by Dr Michael Makanga, Executive Director of Global Health EDCTP3, and Dr Nyirenda from the EDCTP Association Africa Office. The mission included a visit to Afrigen, which is playing a key role in developing biomanufacturing capacity in sub-Saharan Africa, and to the SPaRCS project at University of the Western Cape, which is helping to build national pharmacovigilance capacities in the region.

EDCTP also organised a high-level side event at the Science Summit during the 79th United Nations General Assembly in September 2024. Focused on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the event highlighted key AMR challenges and how international research collaborations between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa are helping to address them.

In April 2024, EDCTP participated in discussions in Nairobi, Kenya, on clinical trials in Africa, alongside the Clinical Trials and Research Community (CRTC) programme of the Science for Africa (SFA) Foundation, the Global Health EDCTP3-funded Clinical Trials African Network (CTCAN) consortium, and the EDCTP Regional Networks of Excellence. Discussions focused on how the EDCTP Regional Networks of Excellence can support the implementation of the CTCAN project, and how the SFA Foundation and the EDCTP Association can work together to amplify the impact of their activities across sub-Saharan Africa.

The EDCTP Association Africa Office, led by Dr Thomas Nyirenda, is based in Cape Town and hosted by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). It is undertaking a greater range of activities within Global Health EDCTP3. In March 2024, Dr Nyirenda represented EDCTP at the 35th Meeting of the African Advisory Committee for Research and Development (AACHRD). AACHRD was set up to advise the WHO Africa Regional Director on research related to health policies and development strategies. The meeting focused on manufacturing, technology transfer, and R&D in the African Region, and Dr Nyirenda presented on the role of clinical trials in the R&D landscape in Africa.

EDCTP has a strong commitment to working in partnership, with key stakeholders from sub-Saharan Africa and funders with a shared interest in equitable partnerships to advance global health.

During 2024, with funding from the UK Department of Health and Social Care, EDCTP provided support for the WHO to produce global guidance on best practice for clinical trials. The guidance is designed to optimise trial conduct to ensure that trials deliver high-quality evidence, to reduce duplication and research ‘waste’, and to strengthen the global ecosystem for clinical trials, including studies during pandemics.