Development of effective compounds across wound healing objectives.
Skin cell regeneration
The wound healing market is worth $19bn per annum (2019) and with a projected 4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to exceed $24bn by 2024. Chronic wounds are set to increase their share of this market and are within the scope of our clinical objectives with this project.
Objectives: Surgical, trauma, chronic ulcers, burns.
Bone regeneration
The US bone regeneration market is set to be worth $6bn by 2026, we have several effective plants.
Objectives: Trauma, osteoporosis.
Anti-inflammatory
Inflammatory responses and manipulation thereof is a massive market documenting revenue of over $100 bn as of 2020. We expect to elucidate novel compounds in several plants accessible in South Africa.
Objectives: Trauma, chronic inflammation.
Dr Alan Gould BSc (Hons), MBBCh, PhD
Obtained his undergraduate degree in Human Biology and Physiology after which he undertook postgraduate studies in Human Anatomy finally progressing to his Doctorate (completed 2014). His PhD focussed on assessing the efficacy of a plant with an aim to identify a mechanism and potential active compound responsible for the activity seen when applied to wound healing. He also completed his medical degree in 2014 after which he has been working as a doctor in South Africa for the past 5 years. Alan’s perspective on the clinical scenarios faced by doctors on a daily basis and not only on a local front but also internationally has led to his interest in applying his research experience to overcoming these hurdles.
Phanuel Majozi
Phanuel Majozi Grew up in rural Zululand in Enkandla and was born into a family with a long line of healers. After working for a short while in a hotel he received the calling to become a healer and established himself as such in Johannesburg in 1995. He later became a trainer of traditional healers and continues as a healer to date. Majozi has a vast knowledge of cures and their application. He is well known and respected in the traditional healer community.
Daniel Miles BSc (Hons)
Obtained a B.Sc. (Hons) in Computing and Information Technology in 1993 and worked in the financial services sector as a coder, project manager later going into management consulting and running major transformation programmes in the sector with benefits in the hundreds of millions of Rands. Daniels fascination with his African roots has led him to immerse himself in the community eventually becoming a healer and developing a wide knowledge of cures and their applications and continues working as a healer.
Prof. Geoffrey Candy BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD
An analytical biochemist who graduated with a MSc in biochemistry in 1980 and worked in industry before joining the Department of Nuclear Medicine in 1991. He established the renal function tests in the hospitals and completed a PhD supervised by Prof Gavin Norton on the genetics of hypertension. He was appointed to run the research laboratories in the department of Surgery in 2009 and was promoted to Associate (2011) and Personal Professor (2018). He has developed translational research in metabolism, amino acids, inflammatory markers and worked in the areas of wound healing and cancers. His main interest is investigating factors affecting arginine, the precursor of nitric oxide and the role of the microbiome in cardiovascular disease. He has continued his interest in measuring renal function for the kidney transplant and nephrology unit and has recently developed research themes in hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancers as a member of the Wits/MRC Common Epithelial Cancers Working Group. He has supervised to completion several PhDs and MSc’s in these research areas as well as 15 clinical MMEDs. He is author and co-author on more than 55 publications, over 140 local and international conference presentations and 4 book chapters. He is a reviewer for a number of journals, a reviewer of funding applications to the National Research Foundation and is an examiner of post graduate theses and reports for University of the Witwatersrand and other South African Universities. He has been on the EXCO of the Surgical Research Society of Southern Africa since 2009. He is a member of the post-graduate committee and is current chair of the University’s Animal Research Ethics Committee.
Ethical and legal
All work is undertaken aligned to the South African NEMBA 2004 and duly licensed and governed by the Department of Environmental Affairs.