Abstract

Pharmacometrics Africa is a not-for-profit company registered in South Africa as an established platform for interested groups to establish and run open-access quantitative clinical pharmacology educational programs in partnership with local research organizations and academic groups. Pharmacometric research and clinical application is pivotal in characterising and optimising treatments, especially for complex or understudied populations. The application of pharmacometrics in drug development during recent years has led to an increase in the adoption of this technique in many drug companies and increased the demand for skilled pharmacometricians globally. Stringent regulatory authorities such as the US-FDA and EMA have increasingly populated their review groups with these scientists, further increasing the demand for the expertise and, more importantly, evidencing the impact and importance of pharmacometrics within the drug development cycle. Creative solutions are required to provide adequate training resources for the future. Pharmacometrics is nascent in Africa. Here, we report on establishing the Ugandan Chapter of Pharmacometrics Africa. This aims to transfer primary training responsibility to local institutions and faculty for sustainability and to build upon regional strengths in pharmacometrics. Creating a local centre of excellence will help attract both regional and international collaborations on quantitative clinical pharmacology. We summarize our experience, key lessons learnt and future perspectives.