Theme 2: Life Sciences Convergence Centre
Our Vision and Goal
VISION: African countries capturing the economic value of their own life sciences research and accelerating the commercialization of their own products to address local and global health needs.
GOAL: To support the creation of innovation lead markets in Africa by developing convergence platforms with a primary focus on health but also in agriculture and the environment.
The Problem:
Unfortunately, the linkages between African researchers and research institutions, and companies – even those that are domestically based –are weak. Consider the following:
A to Z Textile Mills, a company in Arusha, Tanzania, in a joint venture with the Japanese company Sumitomo, is the largest manufacturer of long-lasting insecticide impregnated bed-nets in Africa. A to Z currently manufactures about 12 million bed-nets a year, which are WHO-certified and reasonably priced. Moreover, A-Z has created over 3,200 jobs for Tanzanians, supporting at least 20,000 people. As an example of manufacturing a science-based health product for one Africa’s most burdensome diseases, A to Z is a huge success.
Now imagine a company like A to Z that relied not on imported technology but on domestic African health research. Over the same time period that A to Z was manufacturing malaria bed-nets, distinguished East African researchers were studying and publishing on the malaria parasite and mosquito vector. Imagine if this domestic East African research was the source of the technology for innovations in long lasting insecticide treated bed nets.
Preliminary Studies
At the invitation of three African Governments (Ghana, Tanzania and Rwanda), we undertook an exploration of their life science innovation systems. In these three countries we interviewed over 100 stakeholders from academia, private sector, government and civil society to understand the obstacles to innovation and commercialization in these African nations. The main findings from our research thus far are:
1. There is a lack of synergy and knowledge flow between various stakeholders
2. There is an underexploited potential to commercialize innovative “Stagnant technologies”
3. There are inadequate financial incentives/resources for commercialization
Life Sciences Commercialization and Convergence Workshops
Over the past year we held workshops on ‘Life Sciences Commercialization and Convergence’ in Accra (Ghana) , Dar es Salaam ( Tanzania ) and Kigali (Rwanda) which brought together over 200 stakeholders from across their life sciences innovation systems . Stakeholder workshops were run in the countries to develop consensus on the action plans going forward.
‘Convergence Innovation’ which embodies a new approach to innovation was identified unanimously as a way forward to address these challenges through the preliminary studies and workshops. Convergence Innovation involves the bringing together of science, business and capital to create a dynamic environment where scientific knowledge, the demands of the marketplace and the realities of funders exist together – within a Convergence Platform. An example of a Convergence Platform is the MaRS Centre based in Toronto, Ontario.
Ongoing Work
The MRC is continuing to work with these countries, along with key partners, to support the development of the convergence platforms by facilitating partnerships and the development of business plans and operational documents. We are expanding our research to understand the innovation systems of other African countries and scope out “stagnant technologies” which is explained in greater detail below:
Stagnant Technology Study
From the preliminary country studies, we came across numerous examples of locally developed technologies that were not being commercialized. Examples include a locally developed dipstick for diagnosis of Schistosomiasis by scientists in Ghana and a malaria diagnosis kit in Tanzania. The goal of this study therefore is to describe stagnant health technologies that may exist in Africa’s research institutions and understand the forces that shape their development, through a series of in-depth case studies. Research institutions in five countries will be chosen for this two-year study in Kenya, Nigeria Ghana, Tanzania, and Rwanda.
Publications
1. Accelerating Health Product Innovation in sub-Saharan Africa
Hassan Masum, Abdallah S. Daar, Sara Al-Bader, Ronak Shah and Peter A. Singer. 2007. Accelerating Health Product Innovation in sub-Saharan Africa. MIT Innovations. 2:129-149.
http://www.mrcglobal.org/files/AcceleratingHealthInnovationAfrica_Fall2007.pdf
How can countries in sub-Saharan Africa innovatively tackle their own health problems? Based on background research and over one hundred in-depth interviews conducted in Ghana, Tanzania, and Rwanda, this article lays out an ambitious yet achievable plan for a network of "health convergence centers" - facilities which will bring together local scientists, entrepreneurs, businesspeople, and investors to develop affordable health products and services focused on local needs. In combination with an associated venture fund and larger virtual network, these centers can tackle the gap in moving ideas from lab to marketplace, and build on growing economic strengths in several African nations. By linking with each other and with similar networks worldwide, a relatively modest investment into creating this critical infrastructure will help translate indigenous talent, capital, and know-how into positive health and economic impacts in a sustainable way. This article is featured in a special issue of Innovations Journal called “Sharing the Health”. The issue includes case studies, analytic and policy articles, and a lead essay from Mr. Bill Gates’ Harvard University address – “Take on the Big Inequities” – with commentaries from leading scholars such as William Foege, Lawrence Summers and others.
2. Commercializing African Health Research: Building Life Science Convergence Platforms
Sara Al-Bader, Ronak Shah, Ken Simiyu, Ryan E. Wiley, Pamela Kanellis, Menaka Pulandiran, Marilyn Heymann, Peter A. Singer and Abdallah S. Daar. 2008. Commercializing African Health Research: Building life science convergence platforms. Global Forum Update on Research for Health. (Forthcoming Nov, 2008).
In this article we propose that African innovation – and in particular African life sciences innovation – could and should become a prime driver for health and economic development on the continent. We consider a model to catalyze life sciences innovation and commercialization in Africa through ‘convergence innovation’, which overcomes the problem of missing links between science, business, and capital and provides a specific focus on product development. Our main focus is life sciences innovation for health but with an understanding that applications in agriculture and energy could also benefit from convergence innovation. In this paper we review the concept of convergence innovation, elaborate on our real-world experiences in three African countries, and set out opportunities and proposals for the future. Whilst our initial focus has been on Ghana, Rwanda, and Tanzania, our vision is a continent where many countries are capturing the health and economic benefits of their own domestic health research. This article will be published in the Global Forum Update on Research for Health, a major and prestigious publication of the Global Forum for Health Research which will be widely distributed to decision-makers in research, funding and policy and launched at the Global Ministerial Forum on Research for Health take place in Bamako, Mali, in November 2008.