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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

Middle East activists speak about peace on the Bloemfontein Campus
2012-03-15

 

Bassem Eid (left) and Benjamin Pogrund discuss the situation in the Middle East.
Photo: Johan Roux
15 March 2012

Peace is a big word in the Middle East, particularly amongst Israelis and Palestinians. After years of conflict, people yearn for peace; they want an end to the killings and the uncertainty. The problem is that both sides are actively doing things that undermine the prospect of peace. There is also double talk, lies and evasion with each side pointing fingers. This was the word from Benjamin Pogrund, an Israeli peace activist, addressing staff and students on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State. He and fellow peace activist Bassem Eid, a Palestinian, visited the campus to speak about the situation in the Middle East.

Both men agreed that peace efforts were hindered by the Israeli and the Palestinian leaders. According to Pogrund, neither the Palestinians, nor the Israelis are leading the way in accepting that the conflict must end.
 
“Both Israeli and Palestinian leaders say let us get together with no pre-conditions. Then the Israeli leaders say, Jerusalem we cannot share, that is not for negotiation. And, they say to the Palestinians you must recognise Israel as a Jewish state. So, what they say is unless you agree to these pre-conditions there can be no talks without pre-conditions.
 
“And the Palestinians in turn say the settlement construction must cease immediately, and unless that happened, there is no point in meeting. And they say we will never acknowledge you as a Jewish state so do not even bother talking about it. And we insist on the right of return of Palestinian refugees. So they also say unless you acknowledge these pre-conditions there is no point in meeting with our pre-conditions. So as you can gather each side blames the other side, each side points the finger and says you are responsible for the lack of progress.”
 
Pogrund said both the Israelis and the Palestinians could demand legitimacy in that part of the world.
 
“Both Jewish and Arabs can say we have history on our side. We have religion on our side, culture.”
 
To compare Israel to Apartheid South Africa is wrong, he said.
 
“It is an occupation, it is repression, but it is not Apartheid.”
 
Eid, who is the director of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, said the Palestinians were close to having a complete independent Palestinian state from 1994 to 1999.
 
“But in one rocket former Israeli Prime minister Ariel Sharon destroyed it.”
 
He said Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005 did not bring political unity.
 
“We, the Palestinians, were supposed to start building the infrastructure of the Gaza Strip but unfortunately Hamas started dancing on that Israeli disengagement and considered it as their own success because of their military resistance against the occupation.” He also said Hamas is satisfied with its hold in the Gaza Strip and Fatah is also very satisfied with its hold in the West Bank. According to Eid, it is convenient for the Israelis that the Palestinians are separated.

 

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