Pillai Goonaseelan Colin, Mouksassi Samer, Asiimwe Innocent G, Rayner Craig R, Kern Steven, Sinxadi Phumla, Denti Paolo, Decloedt Eric, Waitt Catriona, Ogutu Bernhards R, de Greef Rik
Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
CP+ Associates GmbH, Basel, Switzerland.
CPT Pharmacometrics Syst Pharmacol. 2025 Mar;14(3):407-419. doi: 10.1002/psp4.13291. Epub 2024 Dec 9.
Trained pharmacometricians remain scarce in Africa due to limited training opportunities, lack of a pharmaceutical product development ecosystem, and emigration to high-income countries. The Applied Pharmacometrics Training (APT) fellowship program was established to address these gaps and specifically foster job creation for talent retention. We review the APT program's progress over 3 years and encourage collaboration to enhance local clinical data analysis in Africa. Initiated in 2021 by Pharmacometrics Africa, a non-profit educational entity, with support from partners including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Certara, the APT program targets African doctoral-level scientists and clinicians. This 6-month program is jointly managed by partners, with Pharmacometrics Africa handling logistics and sponsor liaison. Job creation initiatives include inviting fellows to join consulting teams or local research centers. Over the 3 year reporting period, 177 applications were received, with 27 individuals (41% female, median age 35 years) from nine African countries selected into and completing the full program. The fellows worked on 13 data analysis projects, with six so far being presented at international conferences and/or submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals. Nine fellows have joined consulting teams or research centers working from offices in Africa. Currently, in the 3rd year, the APT program has demonstrated success in skills development, job creation, and fostering a critical mass of African pharmacometricians. Collaboration is essential for the sustainable advancement of model-informed drug development in Africa.
由于培训机会有限、缺乏药品开发生态系统以及人才外流到高收入国家，非洲受过专业训练的药物计量学家仍然稀缺。应用药物计量学培训（APT）奖学金计划的设立就是为了填补这些空白，并特别促进创造就业机会以留住人才。我们回顾了APT计划在3年中的进展情况，并鼓励开展合作以加强非洲当地的临床数据分析。APT计划由非营利性教育机构非洲药物计量学于2021年发起，在包括比尔及梅琳达·盖茨基金会和Certara在内的合作伙伴的支持下，该计划面向非洲博士级科学家和临床医生。这个为期6个月的计划由合作伙伴共同管理，非洲药物计量学负责后勤和赞助商联络工作。创造就业机会的举措包括邀请研究员加入咨询团队或当地研究中心。在3年的报告期内，共收到177份申请，来自9个非洲国家的27人（41%为女性，年龄中位数为35岁）入选并完成了整个计划。这些研究员参与了13个数据分析项目，其中6个项目已在国际会议上发表和/或提交至同行评审期刊发表。9名研究员已加入在非洲设有办事处的咨询团队或研究中心。目前，在第3年，APT计划已在技能发展、创造就业机会以及培养一批关键的非洲药物计量学家方面取得了成功。合作对于非洲基于模型的药物开发的可持续发展至关重要。
