Hon Speaker, the Minister and the Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology, hon members, distinguished guests and everyone present here today, I greet you all.
Today, the Department of Science and Technology is presenting its Budget Vote to the House and the nation as a whole. My task today is to brief everyone present, and those who show an interest, on the department's work, the projects that the department has undertaken in order to improve the health system and bring innovative ideas that will assist in the fight against many diseases, pandemics and health issues faced by our people.
Some of these projects include: the bilateral partnership between South Africa and India to develop an HIV vaccine; the South African HIV/Aids Research and Innovation Platform, Sharp, projects; the South African Tuberculosis Research and Innovation Initiative, SATRII; and the South African Malaria Initiative, Sami.
An HIV vaccine is urgently needed to curb the Aids pandemic. Most viral vaccines work by stimulating neutralising antibodies. However, designing an HIV vaccine able to induce such antibodies has proved to be exceedingly difficult. With the recent failure of the Merck CTL-based vaccine and the modest efficacy shown with the RV 144 vaccine in Thailand, there is now renewed interest in designing a vaccine that is able to stimulate neutralising antibodies.
As a result, a joint South Africa-India Committee on Science and Technology Co-operation has been established and funded by the DST and India to look at defining the HIV antigens required for inclusion in a safe and effective HIV vaccine. This is the first time that researchers from both countries are working together in a bilateral effort to contribute to vaccine development.
The three areas where they will make meaningful contributions will be in the identification of neutralising antibody epitopes on India and South Africa HIV-1 subtype viruses for HIV vaccine design; HIV vaccine immunogen design; and comparative immunogenicity of novel Indian and South African HIV-1 subtype env peptide and recombinant protein constructs.
The project aims to identify neutralising antibody epitopes that will be useful for HIV vaccine design and define antigens that are known to be associated with the control of HIV replication for inclusion in HIV vaccine.
This project started three months ago and is already yielding positive results. In addition, the project is contributing to building research capacity in both countries and establishing strong links between India and South Africa. This is to be done through the exchange of knowledge, staff and students, and the sharing of data.
In 2010 the DST/NIH-funded Caprisa 004 clinical trial showed that 1% Tenofovir Gel prevents 39% of new HIV infections in this population. Despite this unprecedented finding, understanding how we can further protect more women is an urgent priority. In 2009, Sharp began funding a basic science study led by Drs Vivek Naramblai and William Carr, to understand what role the innate immune response may play in HIV acquisition in the Caprisa 004 trial.
As part of the assessment of models for health services implementation above, Caprisa 009 is expected to assist in defining the optimal treatment of women who become infected during Tenofovir Gel trials and also provide treatment and care to women who have acquired HIV during Caprisa Tenofovir Gel clinical trials.
Caprisa realised in 2010 that the results of the Caprisa 004 Phase II Clinical Trial demonstrated that the microbicide, Tenofovir Gel was effective in preventing HIV infection in women. The results showed that Tenofovir Gel was associated with a 39% lower risk of HIV acquisition overall, and a 54% reduction among women who achieved the adherence. The results from the trial hold promise for a women-initiated and controlled HIV prevention option. The DST has made a commitment to provide the necessary financial support for the clinical work necessary to confirm the safety and efficacy of 1% Tenofovir Gel's preventing HIV infection.
The new platform H3-D Centre at the University of Cape Town, which is a centre for skills transfer, knowledge sharing, technology transfer, human capacity development and providing tangible results in the form of products and services to the people of South Africa, has a lead malaria compound that will be ready for pre-clinical studies in the next six months. This process was fast-tracked as a result of partnerships that they have established with the Medicines for Malaria venture.
The above statement is testimony to the Department of Science and Technology's commitment to advancing South Africa's health through developing groundbreaking and innovative ideas.
The Budget Vote is supported by the ANC. I thank you.