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23 January 2019 | Story Charlene Stanley | Photo Charlene Stanley
Michele Middle
Michelle Middle, CMO of Farmovs, looks forward to expanding their operations after the UFS acquired 100% shareholding in 2018.

In medical research, there are NO shortcuts.

The journey of a new medicine from lab to pharmacy shelf takes on average at least 10 years.

Michelle Middle’s journey from young medical graduate starting her first job at FARMOVS to becoming the company’s Chief Medical Officer, was more than twice that long. It was a journey that systematically and adequately equipped her to now Co-captain this flagship enterprise through its biggest challenge yet.

Michelle remembers how Farmovs started in 1974 as a research centre in the Department of Pharmacology. After graduating as medical doctor, she joined Farmovs in 1993, shortly before they moved to their current extensive facilities just south of the Sasol Library.

In 2000, international Clinical Research Organization (CRO) giant Parexel acquired a 70% shareholding, and the name changed to Farmovs-Parexel.

“Parexel really invested a lot in infrastructure and technology, bringing facilities here on par with the best in the world,” says Michelle.

Her own journey in medical research took her to George and later to the US and UK, where she held various international executive leadership positions in international companies.

When the UFS acquired a 100% shareholding in Farmovs earlier this year, she came full circle, as she returned to Bloemfontein to spearhead the expansion of patient studies in collaboration with the Faculty of Health Sciences.

“The opportunities we have here are really enormous,” says an excited Michelle.

“We are the only university in the country with this kind of infrastructure. Apart from our state-of-the-art bioanalytical lab, we also have facilities to accommodate close to 100 research participants. We now have 45 years’ experience in advanced medical research, plus established international clients. We can provide pharmaceutical companies with basically everything they need to develop new medicines.”

Another exciting development is that they are expanding their clinical-trial patient population next year from healthy individuals to people suffering from a host of chronic conditions.

“While they are part of our clinical trials, patients gain valuable insight in their own conditions. We also sometimes pick up underlying medical issues they were not even aware of,” says Michelle.

The 150 Farmovs staff members range from doctors and nurses, to technologists, medical writers, and managers. While not technically part of the university staff, they form a valued part of the Bloemfontein Campus community.

News Archive

Fasset continues to fuel academic excellence at the UFS
2017-12-15


  Description: Fasset read more Tags: Fasset, Accounting, INTRABAS, Finance, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants

  Programme Director: School of Accounting, Prof Hentie van Wyk, and
  Dean: Economic and Management Sciences, Prof Hendri Kroukamp
  excited about the unveiling of the Finance and Accounting Services
  Sector Education and Training Authority (Fasset)
  plaque at the School of Accounting.
  Photo: Rulanzen Martin

The School of Accounting on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) held an unveiling ceremony for a Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Fasset) plaque. The plaque was unveiled by UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Petersen, and Fasset CEO, Lesego Lebuso. This was in honour of Fasset’s partnership with the UFS and its contribution towards driving academic excellence through its Intrabas projects over the past few years.
 
Funding for teaching and learning initiatives
These projects support the development of black student enrolment and performance in Accounting Studies. During the previous year, Fasset gave the UFS R54 million in funding to support teaching and learning initiatives for 960 black Accounting students. These students were enrolled for BAcc, BCom(Acc), BAcc(Hons)/PGDipCA, and BCom(Hons in Acc)/PGDipGA studies. In the same year, a celebratory ceremony was held at the South Campus for 125 Fasset-funded students to celebrate their academic excellence.
 
 Prof Hentie van Wyk, Programme Director: School of Accounting, said, “FASSET funding will give the Centre for Accounting (as it was then called) an opportunity to strengthen our current student-centred teaching model”. This seemed like a prophecy, because at the beginning of 2017, the class of 2016 BAccHons students achieved a 96% pass rate in the 2017 Initial Test of Competence (ITC) examinations of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

Millions contributed towards accounting degrees
In 2017, Fasset sponsored 114 students on the Bloemfontein Campus with full bursaries amounting to more than R20 million through the Intrabas bursary fund for degree qualifications in BAccHons, BComHons (Acc), BAcc, BComAcc and BComAcc Extended programmes, as well as the tutorial programme managed by the School of Accountancy. On the Qwaqwa Campus, Fasset has given more than R7 million worth of funding.
 
James Veitch, Senior Officer: School of Accounting, said, “A decision was made to rather fund less students so that they could be assisted with greater effect, and students who did not qualify for the bursaries, would still be assisted through the support programme.”

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