How people respond to medicines often depends on their genetics, and Africa’s diversity plays a significant role. By focusing on drug discovery in Africa, researchers can address pressing health challenges specific to the continent, Kelly Chibale, a Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Cape Town and the founder and director of the H3D Research Center and H3D Foundation, told Sputnik Africa in an interview.
"Humans came from Africa [..]. The variability that we see in the way different people, populations, or individuals respond to medicines is a consequence of genetic differences in the expression and activity of what we call drug-metabolizing enzymes. There is a very strong link between the genetics of a population, the social and physical environment in which those patients live, and the treatment of disease. Therefore, building the drug discovery capability in close proximity to where the patients are in Africa is the best way to understand their real pressing unmet medical needs in their social and physical environment. That is one reason for doing drug discovery in Africa," Professor Chibale says.
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