Keynote address by Minister of Science and Technology, Mosibudi Mangena at the official launch of the Centre for Proteomic and Genomic Research, University of Cape Town Medical Campus, Cape Town

Programme director
Director of the Centre, Professor Jonathan Blackburn
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

In the booming disciplines of genomics and proteomics, the Centre for Proteomic and Genomic Research (CPGR) is the first in South Africa, which combines an integrated technological approach with a strong focus on translating information-rich discoveries into practical applications.

You should therefore understand our excitement at your finally launching this cross-cutting facility, which will now take a pride of place in our National System of Innovation. We understand the Centre provides high-throughput biological solutions and project support to the country's scientific community, in addition to offering high-quality analytical services to academia and industry.

This makes this centre a proactive driver of research and development in Southern Africa aimed at directly boosting the biotech sector by building a competitive research and development infrastructure. In this way, it is better placed to increase the number of scientists in this field that are able to convert scientific findings into practical applications. We believe this will, in turn, stimulate economic growth in the life sciences and biotechnology sectors.

This translational approach, which aligns the strengths of basic research and market-driven development to maximise the scientific and commercial value of multidisciplinary projects aimed at generating better products and services, is the direction envisaged for the National System of Innovation in our ten year plan.

We must stress that core technology platforms such as the CPGR are of central importance to both the National Biotechnology Strategy and individual scientists, who conduct research at the same level of excellence as their international peers.

The core technology platforms encouraged and instituted in South Africa play a role in easing the burden of disease by enabling South African scientists to develop improved medical diagnostics, attain a greater understanding of relevant diseases in our society, as well as mine Southern African biodiversity to generate new medicines from the local flora and fauna.

These technology platforms also provide positive benefits for the economy by encouraging plant and human biotechnology advances. The Centre is empowering researchers in the life science sector (both academic and industrial) to translate their research into practice. We are informed that to date, the CPGR works with about 90 different research groups, nationally and internationally, and is engaged in research across a number of sectors, which include:

* a search for new, improved and molecular diagnostic and prognostic markers of diseases such as malaria, leukaemia and colorectal cancer
* an understanding of the pathology of emergent and clinically significant syndromes, and a search for their molecular diagnostic markers
* a search for molecular markers for protective vaccination in juveniles following Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination
* an understanding of the correlation between human genetic variation and drug response
* a search for markers of pathogen resistance in maize
* an assessment of the possible health risks associated with the development of genetically modified plants
* the improvement of yeast strains for use in the wine biotechnology sector.

It is of particular significance that the CPGR has been set up and it seems to be succeeding as a financially sustainable model. I understand the department was initially sceptical about the likelihood of this model working for a technology platform, but happily, the opposite seems to have turned out as the truth.

While this model is unlikely to work for all our biotech platforms, it does point to certain features of this Centre. Firstly, its quality of the scientific leadership and expertise is indisputable, and secondly, the value of the genomic and proteomic services offered by the platform is clearly recognised.

While my department is keen to develop the scientific infrastructure for biotechnology, we want to ensure that we are investing in areas that are relevant to South African biotechnology. This model forces the platform to be relevant, to maintain a position at the forefront of the discipline, and to keep its services competitive.

Like the other strategic instruments driving biotechnology, such as the Regional Innovation Centres and the National Bioinformatics Networks, this Centre, also forms a critical part of our National Biotechnology Strategy. Furthermore, we are convinced that the Centre will add value to the National System of Innovation, and that it has the capacity to adjust to the ever-changing technological environment. Through it, we hope to fulfil the research and human capital development needs for both the academic and entrepreneurial sectors, and to enhance mechanisms and instruments for supporting biotechnology innovation in the areas of genomics and proteomics.

As President Thabo Mbeki observed when he launched the African component of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology last year, the breaking of the genetic code and the deeper understanding of the human genome have begun to change our grasp of human origins, of domestication, of migration and development.

In addition to teaching us about the evolution and basis of racial differences for instance, the human genome continues to advance our understanding of how diseases work, and how we can prevent them. The human genome stands poised to change our scientific horizons. And this has enormous implications for the African continent in medicine, in law, in history, in sociology and in shifting Africa's location from the periphery of modern scientific and cultural development.

Considering the specific challenges faced by South Africa, we hope this centre will make a difference to the quality of education in this field at all levels. We also trust that the CPGR will develop mechanisms to communicate the concepts of genomics and proteomics effectively, to engage the public in an informed dialogue.

We are certain that our efforts in this regard will improve awareness and understanding of genetics and its consequences among governments, health service administrators and the medical profession, and assist in the establishment of regulatory systems and ethical review structures to regulate and evaluate the wide variety of technologies that are being developed from genomics and proteomics.

We will look to this facility to facilitate the establishment of regional networks and other centres for genetic research programmes aimed at addressing the common health challenges afflicting our country and the continent.

We hope to see significant scientific advances coming from the Centre, particularly in the fight against malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia and even HIV and Aids. With these few words, it is now my pleasure to declare the Centre for Proteomic and Genomic Research officially open.

Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
3 April 2008