Opportunities and barriers to establishing a cell therapy programme in South Africa
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Date
Authors
Jackson, Carlo Stephan
Pepper, Michael Sean
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BioMed Central
Abstract
The establishment of a cell therapy programme in South Africa has the potential to contribute to the alleviation of the country’s high disease burden and also to contribute to economic growth. South Africa has various positive attributes that favour the establishment of such a high-profile venture; however, there are also significant obstacles which need to be overcome. We discuss the positive and negative features of the current health biotechnology sector. The positive factors include a strong market pull and a highly innovative scientific and medical community,
while the most problematic features include the lack of human resources and education and limited funding. The South African Government has undertaken to strengthen the biotechnology sector in general, but a focus on cell therapy is lacking. The next important step would be to provide financial, legal/ethical and other support for groups that are active and productive in this field through the development of a local cell therapy programme.
Description
Keywords
Opportunities and barriers, Cell therapy programme, South Africa, Disease, Economic growth
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Jackson and Pepper: Opportunities and barriers to establishing a cell therapy programme in South Africa. Stem Cell Research & Therapy 2013 4:54.