Research Chair leads Africa’s 21st century therapeutic revolution
- Wits University
Development of drug delivery systems focused on targeted therapy, nanomedicine, and regenerative medicine.
For patients living with complex illnesses such as cancer, HIV, TB, neurological disorders, neurotrauma, or other infectious diseases, the way medicine is delivered to the body can be just as important as the medicine itself.
These and other complicated and infectious diseases also disproportionally affect low- to middle-income countries (LMICs), like South Africa.
SARChI Chair, Professor Yahya Choonara, thus aims to make medicine more accessible, efficient, and potent.
The South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) is the National Research Foundation’s prestigious programme to support exceptional researchers, who in turn strengthen research capacity, promote innovation, and foster collaboration between academia, industry, and government.
SARChI Chairs are awarded to outstanding researchers who have demonstrated excellence in their field and have the potential to make significant contributions to South Africa's research landscape.
Choonara holds the SARChI Chair in Prototyping 21st Century Therapeutics in Pharmaceutical Biomaterials, Nanomedicine and Advanced Drug-Delivery Technology.
He is the Director and Principal Investigator at the Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform (WADDP), a flagship research unit in Africa that he co-founded in 2007.
WADDP is the first and only fully integrated pharmaceutical product development and training platform in Africa, harnessing 21st century pharmaceutical industry skills and expertise in the value chain.
Choonara says, “Being a SARChI Chair enables me to be recognised as a leading expert in this growing and important field. Through the Chair programme, I hope to further the development of innovative drug delivery systems, focusing on targeted therapy, nanomedicine, and regenerative medicine."
Home-grown global excellence with impact
Choonara is an internationally renowned pharmaceutical scientist, pharmacist, educator, mentor, inventor, and a fierce advocate for African-led innovation for greater health equity.
At the centre of his work are patients’ needs. Whether it’s a child struggling to swallow a pill or a cancer patient in need of fast-acting relief, his research into advanced drug delivery systems and nanomedicines focuses on improving health outcomes in the real world.
Advanced drug delivery
WADDP integrates pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical chemistry, molecular biology, pharmacology, nanoscience, biomedical engineering, and materials science.
The unit also focuses on establishing scientific infrastructure and world-class methods for drug delivery and development.
Among WADDP’s innovations is the world’s fastest-dissolving drug matrix, the WaferMat, developed for paediatrics, patients who need immediate relief, and those who cannot take traditional tablets.
WADDP researchers are also working on developing bioinspired neurotherapeutics, nanomedicine for infectious diseases and cancers, and novel VagiTabs for women’s health.
Meanwhile, advanced drug delivery is an integral part of the WADDP and is a focus in the new cross-faculty Infectious Diseases and Oncology Research Institute (IDORI) at Wits University.
Pharma postgrad pipeline
Choonara is equally committed to growing future leaders in pharmaceutical science. Over the past two decades, he has trained and mentored more than 136 postgraduate students and 17 postdoctoral fellows from 11 different countries. Many of his former students are now either employed at Wits at WADDP or hold senior academic or industry positions globally.
His influence on science education extends beyond the laboratory. He co-authored two UNESCO UniTWIN reports on pharmaceutical science education in Africa, which call for more equitable, inclusive, and locally relevant scientific training models. This is in addition to the more than 412 ISI-accredited publications achieving over 16,500 citations.
Patently innovative
In 2022, Choonara received the Distinguished Pharmaceutical Science Award from the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) and became the first South African scientist to earn the honour. FIP represents more than four million pharmacy professionals worldwide.
Choonara is also a recipient of the Department of Science and Innovation’s Top Intellectual Property Creator Award, which celebrates leading contributions to innovation in South Africa.
With 51 pharmaceutical patents to his name, Choonara holds Africa’s most extensive pharmaceutical product patent portfolio.