Background and Purposes

Subject to fragile health systems, Africa has long lacked access to available services and medicines. That means it must increase its R&D input, ramp up its medical supply and improve pharmaceutical quality systems if it is to reduce dependence on imported medical products. A pharmacopoeia represents a legally-binding collection, prepared by a national or regional authority, of standards and quality specifications for essential medicines. It aims to deal with salient quality and safety issues in a scientific, advanced and rigorous manner. In this context, this program is jointly offered by SJTU School of Pharmacy, the SJTU International Affairs Office, Addis Ababa University (AAU) College of Health Sciences, CDT-Africa, a World Bank supported Africa centre of excellence for education and research in medical discovery and development under AAU, and Shanghai Yuanyan Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd.

In 2018, this Program has been launched based on local scientific and technological capabilities. Working with one local PhD student and one a postdoctoral researcher, all project team members strived to set the standards of African Pharmacopeia:

• Research methods and standards of two plant species: Ethiopian artemisia annua and moringa oleifera;
• Universal standards of African Pharmacopeia.

At the same time, after constant visits to AAU, the World Bank and the African Food and Drug Administration, SJTU helped set up the AAU-CDT pharmaceutical research laboratory and offered great support in the laboratory equipment procurement. As a result, these efforts have promoted the sustainable development of the Program.

General Outline

 The project team will pay constant visits to AAU to follow the developments of the Program and offer strong support in this regard.

Management Guidelines

1. Build a project team of fewer than 10 people, including project coordinators, research faculty and students.

2. Introduce research methods and standards of three types of botanical drug products that contain ingredients from three plant species of the year, and ensure the development of the CDT pharmaceutical research laboratory under the guidance of the universal version of African Pharmacopoeia.    

3. Develop ways to exchange ideas on a regular basis and put in place a sound reporting system.