PHARMBIOTRAC Accelerator Program (PAP) Call 2020
The Pharm-Biotechnology and Traditional Medicine Center (PHARMBIOTRAC) is one of the 24 Eastern and Southern Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence (ACE II) Programs. PHARMBIOTRAC is established at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) since 2017, with the financial support from the World Bank.
The Goal of PHARMBIOTRAC is “to build a critical mass of specialized and skilled human resource that can advance traditional medicine and pharm-biotechnology for socio-economic development of Africa.”
The Vision is “to be a leading Africa Center of Excellence for training and research in traditional medicine and pharm-biotechnology.”
The Mission is “to contribute to documentation, validation and value chain development of traditional medicine and biotechnology products for use in pharmaceutical and nutraceuticals industries in the region through training, research and community services for sustainable development.”
The Specific Objectives include to:
- strengthen capacity in the region to train highly skilled and specialized professionals in traditional medicine and bio-pharmaceuticals
- strengthen capacity in the region to engage in cutting edge research in traditional medicine and systems biology for health products development
- create capacity in collaboration with private sector industry for development, production and commercialization of traditional medicines, biopharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals from research outputs
- advance the practices of traditional medicine in the region and promote domestication and sustainable utilization of medicinal species.
PHARMBIOTRAC has recently been awarded by the World Bank/Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) to host the Regional Incubation Center. The focus is “Strengthening incubation of traditional medicines and biopharmaceuticals at Mbarara University of Science and Technology Regional Center for Innovations and Technology Transfer.” Specifically, the aim is to support innovators with ideas in traditional medicine to conceptualize, develop and test their products for commercialization. In partnership with the Consortium for Affordable Medical Technologies (CAMTech) Uganda, successful applicants/innovators will therefore, be taken through a step by step innovations-ecosystem that will lead to the commercialization of their products/services.
PHARMBIOTRAC is therefore pleased to announce a PHARMBIOTRAC Accelerator Program 2020 (PAP 2020) Call for Proposals. The purpose of this call is for teams/individuals with products/ services in line with the thematic areas below to apply for this incubation program. At some stage, through a competitive process, incubatees will compete for seed grants to help them implement their prior set project milestones/activities.
Thematic areas of this call:
- Traditional/herbal medicines
- Natural cosmetics
- Natural (herbal) health drinks
- Any other area closely related to the above
The awardees (incubatees) will receive the following support from the PHARMBIOTRAC Accelerator Program to accelerate their innovations to commercialization:
- Training in business plan development, financial management of grants and reporting
- Participation in workshops to equip teams with the necessary skills in grant writing and business plan development
- Assistance in planning of project activities to be carried out throughout the grant period
- Guidance on:
- Filing for Intellectual Property of your innovation
- Company incorporation
- National Drug Authority regulatory requirements, Uganda National Bureau of Standards requirements and other regulatory requirements in other countries
- Applying for protocol approvals from institutions such as Institutional Review Boards (IRB) and Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST) or its equivalent in other countries
- Access to the MUST facilities (e.g. laboratory facilities, PHARMBIOTRAC production lab, CAMTech Co-creation lab, Business Clinic etc.)
- Gaining publicity for your innovation and providing a wide range of peer-to-peer engagement opportunities.
Note that each project will be incubated in the ACEII Incubator for ongoing in-person support.
Eligibility: Nationals from Uganda and all other African countries
Condition for participation: The programme is free of tuition fees (trainings, workshops, facility access), but each participant is responsible for their upkeep, visa and transportation during residential sessions.
Procedure of Application: Interested eligible teams/individuals are invited to fill and submit the application form, downloadable from https://pharmbiotrac.must.ac.ug/event/pap2020/ and/or http://bit.ly/ACEApplicationForm2020
Submission of Application: Submit the filled application form as an attachment to the following email: The subject of the email should be: PAP2020 Application – LAST NAME OF THE TEAM LEADER e.g. “PAP2020 Application – AMACHA”
Deadline for application: 15th February 2020
Kindly note that only shortlisted applicants will be notified by 20th February 2020. If your application is not successful, do not hesitate to apply during the next call.
Feel free to visit the following website:
http://www.must.ac.ug https://camtechuganda.org https://pharmbiotrac.must.ac.ug
Application form available ACEII_PHARMBIOTRAC_Incubatee_Application_Form_2020.docx and http://bit.ly/ACEApplicationForm2020
Poster of the call in PDF downloadable ACEII_PHARMBIOTRAC_Incubatee_Call_2020.pdf