Gene and cell therapy in South Africa: Current status and future prospects.

Gene and cell therapy in South Africa: Current status and future prospects. S Afr Med J. 2019 Sep 10;109(8b):12-16 Authors: Ely A, Bloom K, Maepa MB, Mahlangu JN, Pepper MS, Arbuthnot P Abstract South Africa has a high disease burden resulting from communicable and non-communicable diseases. Current therapeutic interventions rarely result in a cure and the associated lifelong treatment places a considerable strain on an overburdened health sector. Gene and cell therapies present novel alternatives to disease management, offering the promise of a single treatment and a lifelong cure. Although challenges remain, investment in the field has started to bear fruit, with a number of gene and cell therapeutics reaching the market in the past decade. To take full advantage of these developments, it is important that a proactive approach to nurturing appropriate human and material resources is adopted in the country. PMID: 31662143 [PubMed - in process]
Source: South African Medical Journal - Category: African Health Tags: S Afr Med J Source Type: research