South Africa, March 6, 2025 –The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN), a global leader in sequencing technology, strengthen their collaboration to advance the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Africa PGI).
The renewed commitment builds on existing efforts over the last 4 years to address COVID-19 and other infectious disease outbreaks, as well as tackle emerging public health threats and endemic diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, and cholera.
Together, both organisations are focused on broadening access to next-generation sequencing (NGS) tools and expertise and enhancing public health surveillance and laboratory networks across Africa.
“Africa CDC is pleased to continue its collaboration with Illumina and other partners to enhance Africa’s capacity to detect and respond to emerging health threats. Genomics is transforming disease surveillance, and this collaboration will help integrate next-generation sequencing into routine public health systems. Our goal remains clear – by the end of 2025, all 55 National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs) will have operational NGS capacity to better protect Africa’s health.” said H.E. Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director-General, Africa CDC.
Since the inception of this collaboration in March 2021, Illumina has provided significant contributions, including next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms, reagents, and training support. As a part of this association, additional sequencing instruments and reagents will be provided to around 25 countries.
“At Illumina, we are driven by the power of genomics to positively impact the world and are deeply committed to improving global health. By expanding access to cutting-edge sequencing technologies, we are helping to create a future where every country can rapidly detect and respond to health threats. Our association with Africa CDC brings us closer to a world where genomics is integrated into routine public health surveillance – enabling faster, more effective responses to disease outbreaks and ultimately saving lives.” said Belinda Ngongo, Director Global Health, Illumina.
Launched in October 2020, Africa PGI is a flagship initiative of Africa CDC designed to enhance public health surveillance systems across the continent. The program focuses on integrating pathogen genomics and bioinformatics into routine public health efforts, allowing for rapid responses to infectious disease threats, enhanced control and prevention, and the development of more effective diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines. This work will further Africa PGI’s vision of building a resilient, integrated, proactive, and sustainable molecular diagnostic, genomic surveillance, and epidemiology ecosystem across Africa.
An expanded clinical trial that tested a ground-breaking, experimental stem cell treatment for blinding cornea injuries found the treatment was feasible and safe in 14 patients who were treated and followed for 18 months, and there was a high proportion of complete or partial success. The results of this new phase 1/2 trial are published in Nature Communications.
The treatment, called cultivated autologous limbal epithelial cells (CALEC), was developed at Mass Eye and Ear, a member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system. The innovative procedure consists of removing stem cells from a healthy eye with a biopsy, expanding them into a cellular tissue graft in a novel manufacturing process that takes two to three weeks, and then surgically transplanting the graft into the eye with a damaged cornea.
“Our first trial in four patients showed that CALEC was safe and the treatment was possible,” said principal investigator Ula Jurkunas, MD, associate director of the Cornea Service at Mass Eye and Ear and professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. “Now we have this new data supporting that CALEC is more than 90% effective at restoring the cornea’s surface, which makes a meaningful difference in individuals with cornea damage that was considered untreatable.”
Researchersshowed CALEC completely restored the cornea in 50% of participants at their 3-month visit and that rate of complete success increased to 79% and 77% at their 12- and 18-month visits, respectively.
With two participants meeting the definition of partial success at 12 and 18 months, the overall success of CALEC was 93% and 92% at 12 and 18 months. Three participants received a second CALEC transplant, one of whom reached complete success by the study end visit. An additional analysis of CALEC’s impact on vision showed varying levels of improvement of visual acuity in all 14 CALEC patients.
CALEC displayed a high safety profile, with no serious events occurring in either the donor or recipient eyes. One adverse event, a bacterial infection, occurred in one participant, eight months after the transplant due to chronic contact lens use. Other adverse events were minor and resolved quickly following the procedures.
CALEC remains an experimental procedure and is currently not offered at Mass Eye and Ear or any U.S. hospital, and additional studies will be needed before the treatment is submitted for federal approval.
The cornea is the clear, outermost layer of the eye. It’s outer border, the limbus, contains a large volume of healthy stem cells called limbal epithelial cells, which maintain the eye’s smooth surface. When a person suffers a cornea injury, such as a chemical burn, infection or other trauma, it can deplete the limbal epithelial cells, which can never regenerate. The resulting limbal stem cell deficiency renders the eye with a permanently damaged surface where it can’t undergo a corneal transplant, the current standard of care for vision rehabilitation. People with these injuries often experience persistent pain and visual difficulties.
This need led Jurkunas as a junior scientist and Dana, director of the Cornea Service at Mass Eye and Ear, to explore a new approach for regenerating limbal epithelial cells. Nearly two decades later, following preclinical studies and collaborations with researchers at Dana-Farber and Boston Children’s, it was possible to consistently manufacture CALEC grafts that met stringent quality criteria needed for human transplantation.
As an autologous therapy, one limitation of this approach is that it is necessary for the patient to have only one involved eye so a biopsy can be performed to get starting material from the unaffected normal eye.
“Our future hope is to set up an allogeneic manufacturing process starting with limbal stem cells from a normal cadaveric donor eye,” said Ritz “This will hopefully expand the use of this approach and make it possible to treat patients who have damage to both eyes.”
By Mthobisi Kgathi, Business Development Manager – Health & Retail Solutions, BCX
South Africa’s pharmacy sector is at a crossroads, navigating regulatory pressures, patient expectations, and the rapid shift to digital healthcare. While innovation promises efficiency and improved patient outcomes, stability remains critical—without it, even the most advanced technologies can fail.
Pharmacies are a cornerstone of South Africa’s healthcare system, providing essential medicines and bridging the gap between doctors and patients. As the industry embraces digitalisation, it must balance progress with reliability, accuracy, and compliance.
Challenges Facing Community Pharmacies
Community pharmacies operate in a competitive environment where operational reliability and strict regulatory adherence are non-negotiable. Key challenges include:
Regulatory Compliance: The South African Pharmacy Council (SAPC) enforces stringent rules on record-keeping, patient confidentiality, and dispensing protocols. Non-compliance risks fines, reputational damage, or closure.
Workforce Strain: Pharmacists face mounting workloads, managing high prescription volumes while maintaining care standards. Digital tools must ease their burden, not add to it.
Cybersecurity Risks: With sensitive patient data stored digitally, pharmacies are prime targets for cyberattacks. Breaches can lead to legal and financial repercussions.
Evolving Patient Expectations: Patients now demand more than just medication—they want advisory services, chronic disease management, and digital conveniences like e-prescriptions and tele-pharmacy.
These factors underscore the need for cutting-edge yet resilient technology that enhances operations without disrupting care.
A Day in the Life of a Pharmacist
Maria, a pharmacist in Cape Town, exemplifies the balancing act required in modern pharmacies. Her day begins early, managing prescriptions and patient queries. Her pharmacy recently adopted an AI-powered system to streamline stock management, predict patient needs, and track prescriptions.
While the technology improves efficiency, Maria feels the pressure of ensuring it doesn’t compromise accuracy. A system alert about a potential drug interaction highlights how technology can be a vital ally in safeguarding patient health. Yet, Maria knows her community values her expertise and judgement above all.
For pharmacies like Maria’s, successful digitalisation means integrating technology seamlessly into daily operations—enhancing efficiency, improving patient care, and maintaining trust.
Why Stability is Crucial in Digital Transformation
Digital transformation is essential but must be approached cautiously. Unstable or poorly integrated systems can lead to errors, downtime, and non-compliance. Stability ensures that innovation supports, rather than disrupts, core pharmacy functions.
For South African pharmacies, stability means:
Consistent Performance: Systems must function reliably to avoid disruptions in dispensing and patient care.
Regulatory Alignment: Digital solutions must keep pace with compliance requirements to prevent legal issues.
Interoperability: Pharmacy systems should integrate smoothly with healthcare providers, insurers, and supply chains.
Data Security: Protecting sensitive patient information is paramount, requiring robust cybersecurity measures.
The Role of Technology Providers
Technology providers must prioritise stability alongside innovation. Their goal should be to create scalable, compliant solutions that enhance pharmacy operations without compromising reliability.
Pharmacy management systems have already improved stock control, reporting, and dispensing accuracy. The next phase involves incorporating predictive analytics, AI-driven efficiencies, and cloud-based solutions—all while ensuring uninterrupted service.
Take Unisolv, a widely used software in South African pharmacies. Known for its reliability, its upcoming modernisation aims to maintain operational continuity while introducing new functionalities. This approach balances innovation with the familiarity and dependability pharmacy staff rely on.
Beyond Unisolv, BCX is expanding its pharmacy solutions portfolio, focusing on workflow automation, data security, and patient engagement. From AI-driven prescription analysis to cloud-based compliance tracking, BCX is shaping the future of pharmacy technology with stability at its core.
Strategic Considerations for the Future
To ensure sustainable digital transformation, South African pharmacies must adopt a long-term, strategic approach:
Phased Rollouts: Gradual implementation minimises disruption and allows teams to adapt.
Comprehensive Training: Staff must be equipped to maximise the potential of new systems.
Vendor Partnerships: Technology providers should act as long-term partners, not just suppliers.
Data-Driven Insights: Analytics can optimise stock levels, predict demand, and personalise patient care.
The Way Forward
As community pharmacies play a vital role in accessible healthcare, technological advancements must empower rather than disrupt their services. Stability is the foundation of this evolution, ensuring that innovations are seamlessly integrated without jeopardising reliability.
Technology providers must focus on creating solutions that are secure, practical, and sustainable. Success will not only be defined by what is new but also by what remains trusted and indispensable.
By embedding resilience into digital strategies, South African pharmacies can confidently embrace the future—leveraging technology to enhance care while safeguarding the principles of trust, accuracy, and compliance. Stability ensures that pharmacies can continue serving their communities effectively, even as they adopt new tools to meet evolving demands.
In the end, the balance between innovation and stability will determine the success of digital transformation in South Africa’s pharmacy sector.
A new USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology study suggests greater exposure to extreme heat may accelerate biological aging in older adults, raising new concerns about how climate change and heat waves could affect long-term health and aging at the molecular level.
People in neighbourhoods that experience more days of high heat show greater biological aging on average than residents of cooler regions, said Jennifer Ailshire, senior author of the study, which appears in Science Advances. Ailshire is professor of gerontology and sociology at the USC Leonard Davis School.
Biological age is a measure of how well the body functions at the molecular, cellular, and system levels, as opposed to chronological age based on one’s birthdate; having a biological age greater than one’s chronological age is associated with higher risk for disease and mortality. While exposure to extreme heat has itself long been associated with negative health outcomes, including increased risk of death, heat’s link to biological aging has been unclear.
Measuring epigenetic changes
Ailshire and her coauthor Eunyoung Choi, USC Leonard Davis PhD in Gerontology alumna and postdoctoral scholar, examined how biological age changed in more than 3600 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) participants aged 56 and older from throughout the U.S. Blood samples taken at various time points during the six-year study period were analysed for epigenetic changes, or changes in the way individual genes are turned “off” or “on” by a process called DNA methylation.
The researchers used mathematical tools called epigenetic clocks to analyse methylation patterns and estimate biological ages at each time point. They then compared participants’ changes in biological age to their location’s heat index history and number of heat days reported by the National Weather Service from 2010 to 2016.
The National Weather Service Heat Index Chart categorises heat index values into three levels based on the potential risk of adverse health effects. The “Caution” level includes heat index values ranging from 80°F (27°C) to 90°F (32°C), the “Extreme Caution” level includes values between 90°F (32°C) and 103°F (34°C), and the “Danger” level includes values between 103°F (34°C) and 124°F (51°C). Days in all three levels were included as heat days in the study.
The analysis revealed a significant correlation between neighbourhoods with more days of extreme heat and individuals experiencing greater increases in biological age, Choi said. This correlation persisted even after controlling for socioeconomic and other demographic differences, as well as lifestyle factors such as physical activity, alcohol consumption and smoking, she added.
“Participants living in areas where heat days, as defined as Extreme Caution or higher levels (32°C), occur half the year, such as Phoenix, Arizona, experienced up to 14 months of additional biological aging compared to those living in areas with fewer than 10 heat days per year,” she said. “Even after controlling for several factors, we found this association. Just because you live in an area with more heat days, you’re aging faster biologically.”
All three epigenetic clocks employed in the study – PCPhenoAge, PCGrimAge, and DunedinPACE – revealed this association when analysing epigenetic aging over a 1- to 6-year period. PCPhenoAge also showed the association after short (7 days) and medium (30-60 days) periods of time, indicating that heat-related epigenetic changes could happen relatively quickly, and some of them may accumulate over time.
Climate implications for communities
Older adults are particularly vulnerable to the effects of high heat, Ailshire said. She noted that the study used heat index, rather than just air temperature, to take relative humidity into account as they analyzed results.
“It’s really about the combination of heat and humidity, particularly for older adults, because older adults don’t sweat the same way. We start to lose our ability to have the skin-cooling effect that comes from that evaporation of sweat,” she explained. “If you’re in a high humidity place, you don’t get as much of that cooling effect. You have to look at your area’s temperature and your humidity to really understand what your risk might be.”
The next steps for the researchers will be to determine what other factors might make someone more vulnerable to heat-related biological aging and how it might connect to clinical outcomes. In the meantime, the study results could also prompt policymakers, architects, and others to keep heat mitigation and age-friendly features in mind as they update cities’ infrastructure, from placing sidewalks and building bus stops with shade in mind to planting more trees and increasing urban green space, Ailshire said.
“If everywhere is getting warmer and the population is aging, and these people are vulnerable, then we need to get really a lot smarter about these mitigation strategies,” she said.
A new study led by researchers at Mass General Brigham suggests a nasal spray developed to target neuroinflammation could one day be an effective treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI). By studying the effects of the nasal anti-CD3 in a mouse model of TBI, researchers found the spray could reduce damage to the central nervous system and behavioural deficits, suggesting a potential therapeutic approach for TBI and other acute forms of brain injury. The results are published in Nature Neuroscience.
“Traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability – including cognitive decline – and chronic inflammation is one of the key reasons,” said lead author Saef Izzy, MD, FNCS, FAAN, a neurologist and head of the Immunology of Brain Injury Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system. “Currently, there is no treatment to prevent the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury.”
The study examines the monoclonal antibody Foralumab, made by Tiziana, which has been tested in clinical trials for patients with multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and other conditions.
“This opens up a whole new area of research and treatment in traumatic brain injury, something that’s almost impossible to treat,” said senior author Howard Weiner, MD, co-director of the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “It also means this could work in intracerebral hemorrhage and other stroke patients with brain injury.”
Multiple experiments were done in mouse models with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury to explore the communication between regulatory cells induced by the nasal treatment and the microglial immune cells in the brain. Over time, researchers were able to identify how they modulate immune response.
“Modulating the neuroinflammatory response correlated with improved neurological outcomes, including less anxiety, cognitive decline, and improved motor skills,” Izzy said.
In addition to assessing the effects of the treatment, the research team was able to learn about immune response over time and compare the immune responses and effects of TBI in the mice.
The next step in the research is to translate the findings from preclinical models to human patients.
“Our patients with traumatic brain injury still don’t have an effective therapeutic to improve their outcomes, so this is a very promising and exciting time to move forward with something that’s backed up with solid science and get it to patients’ bedsides,” said Izzy.
Once in the clinical setting, Weiner said the hope is this treatment could be used on a variety of traumatic brain injury patients, including football players with repetitive concussions.
“We envision giving a nasal spray right there on the sidelines,” said Weiner. “It isn’t something we can do yet, but we see the potential.”
Scientists have uncovered the mechanism behind how aspirin could reduce the metastasis of some cancers by stimulating the immune system.
In the study published in Nature, the scientists say that discovering the mechanism will support ongoing clinical trials, and could lead to the targeted use of aspirin to prevent the spread of susceptible types of cancer and the development of more effective drugs to prevent cancer metastasis.
The scientists caution that aspirin can have serious side effects and that trials are underway to establish safety and efficacy.
A reduction in the spread of some cancers
Studies of people with cancer have previously observed that those taking daily low-dose aspirin have a reduction in the spread of some cancers, such as breast, bowel, and prostate cancers, leading to ongoing clinical trials. However, until now it wasn’t known exactly how aspirin could prevent metastases.
In this study, led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, the scientists say their discovery of how aspirin reduces cancer metastasis was serendipitous.
They were investigating the process of metastasis, because, while cancer starts out in one location, 90% of cancer deaths occur when cancer spreads to other parts of the body.
Lung cancer metastasis. Credit: National Cancer Institute
The scientists wanted to better understand how the immune system responds to metastasis. This is because when individual cancer cells break away from their originating tumour and spread to another part of the body, they are particularly vulnerable to immune attack.
An effect on cancer metastasis
The immune system can recognise and kill these lone cancer cells more effectively than cancer cells within larger originating tumours, which have often developed an environment that suppresses the immune system.
The researchers previously screened 810 genes in mice and found 15 that had an effect on cancer metastasis. In particular, they found that mice lacking a gene that produces a protein called ARHGEF1 had less metastasis of various primary cancers to the lungs and liver.
The researchers determined that ARHGEF1 suppresses T cells, which can recognise and kill metastatic cancer cells.
To find a suitable drug, the scientists traced signals in the cell to determine that ARHGEF1 is switched on when T cells are exposed to a clotting factor called thromboxane A2 (TXA2).
This was an unexpected revelation for the scientists, because TXA2 is already well-known and linked to how aspirin works.
Reduces the production of TXA2
TXA2 is produced by platelets; aspirin reduces the production of TXA2, leading to the anti-clotting effects, which underlies its ability to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
This new research found that aspirin prevents cancers from spreading by decreasing TXA2 and releasing T cells from suppression. They used a mouse model of melanoma to show that in mice given aspirin, the frequency of metastases was reduced compared to control mice, and this was dependent on releasing T cells from suppression by TXA2.
Despite advances in cancer treatment, many patients with early stage cancers receive treatments, such as surgical removal of the tumour, which have the potential to be curative, but later relapse due to the eventual growth of micrometastases – cancer cells that have seeded other parts of the body but remain in a latent state.
Most immunotherapies are developed to treat patients with established metastatic cancer, but when cancer first spreads there’s a unique therapeutic window of opportunity when cancer cells are particularly vulnerable to immune attack.
We hope that therapies that target this window of vulnerability will have tremendous scope in preventing recurrence in patients with early cancer at risk of recurrence.
More accessible globally
Dr Jie Yang, who carried out the research, at the University of Cambridge, said:
It was a Eureka moment when we found TXA2 was the molecular signal that activates this suppressive effect on T cells.
Before this, we had not been aware of the implication of our findings in understanding the anti-metastatic activity of aspirin. It was an entirely unexpected finding which sent us down quite a different path of enquiry than we had anticipated.
Aspirin, or other drugs that could target this pathway, have the potential to be less expensive than antibody-based therapies, and therefore more accessible globally.
In the future, the researchers plan to help the translation of their work into potential clinical practice by collaborating with Professor Ruth Langley, of the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at University College London, who is leading the Add-Aspirin clinical trial, to find out if aspirin can stop or delay early stage cancers from coming back.
Caution on aspirin use
Professor Langley, who was not involved in this study, commented:
This is an important discovery. It will enable us to interpret the results of ongoing clinical trials and work out who is most likely to benefit from aspirin after a cancer diagnosis.
In a small proportion of people, aspirin can cause serious side-effects, including bleeding or stomach ulcers. Therefore, it is important to understand which people with cancer are likely to benefit and always talk to your doctor before starting aspirin.
