Vice Chancellor, Chrisland University, Ogun State, Professor Chinedum Babalola, is one of the world professionals invited to speak at the International Conference on Innovation, Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer in Africa’s Pharmaceutical Sector, holding on Monday, March 25 and Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Organised by the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation (APTF), the conference is scheduled just after the fourth anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, to provide the right platform to reflect on the accomplishments, current and future opportunities, and the remaining challenges in building Africa’s production and innovation capacity in the vaccines and pharmaceutical sector as applicable.
Distinguished moderators, speakers, and panelists who are drawn from across the globe, from agencies, academia, private sector and non-governmental organisations, philanthropies, investment agencies, and businesses, will discuss key topics including technology gaps and innovation capacity in Africa’s public and private sectors for vaccine production, intellectual property rights and technology transfer, innovative financing models to develop Africa’s vaccine R&D Ecosystem, new development-centred approaches to build Africa’s domestic vaccine ecosystem, the relevance of regulatory harmonization and market shaping, pooled procurement, and trade incentives for Africa’s vaccine sector.
Deputy Chairperson, African Union Commission, His Excellency, Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa; Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; President, African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, among other world leaders, will also be speaking at the conference.
CEOAfrica recently reported that Prof. Babalola, the first female Nigerian to be a member of the African Academy of Sciences and the first female Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Ibadan (UI), was also a speaker at the APTF’s Stakeholders’ Dialogue held in Abuja, where she gave academic perspectives on mapping and addressing the technology gaps in Nigeria’s Pharmaceutical and Vaccine sector.
Professor Babalola is a MacArthur grant fellow who pioneered the Centre for Drug Discovery, Development and Production (CDDDP), an initiative envisioned to build capacity for Africans to manufacture and regulate medicines. She was twice selected as one of the 10 most influential female scientists in Nigeria, and has received several awards including the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Regional Prize for Scientific Excellence.
The International Conference on Innovation, Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer in Africa’s Pharmaceutical Sector will provide the space for in-person sessions, allowing networking opportunities to facilitate knowledge exchange. It will also be one of the largest convenings in Africa since the COVID-19 pandemic, offering a unique opportunity for key stakeholders worldwide to interact with regional experts at the forefront of this debate to discuss open questions on the technology environment in Africa.
