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13 May 2019 | Story Zama Feni | Photo Charl Devenish
Dr Quinton Meyer and Marlena Visagie
National Control Laboratory Deputy Director, Dr Quinton Meyer (right), and Marlena Visagie, Quality Assurance Manager, at the laboratory within their facilities at the University of the Free State.

The University of the Free State-based National Control Laboratory for Biological Products (NCL) has maintained its esteemed status as a pharmaceutical testing laboratory after the South African Accreditation System (SANAS) further endorsed its quality-management systems as of high standard according to the International Standards Organisation’s requirements.

The Director of the NCL, Professor Derek Litthauer, said their laboratory – which is also approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) – has again achieved the international testing standards. The cherry on top was that the NCL also received a certificate of Good Manufacturing Compliance (GMP) from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA). 

NCL is for Africa and the World 

Some of the factors that make the NCL an esteemed institution, is the fact that it is one of 12 laboratories worldwide to perform vaccine testing for the WHO; the NCL is the only vaccine-testing laboratory in the country that performs the final quality-control testing of all human vaccine batches marketed in South Africa on behalf of SAHPRA. 

For example, Prof Litthauer said that the influenza vaccine batches currently available on the South African market, were tested by the NCL for quality before authorising their release for sale to the public. This process is followed for all human vaccines used in SA.

 “In our role as vaccine-testing laboratory for the WHO, the NCL helps to ensure that the vaccines purchased through the WHO prequalification programme for international distribution to resource-limited countries, meet the high standards of quality, safety, and efficiency. 
The NCL was one of the first full members of the WHO NCL Network for Biologicals, which consists of full and associate members of regulatory authorities from more than 30 countries.

The NCL systems are world-class

Prof Litthauer said this achievement is recognition that their laboratory complies with specific international standards with respect to its quality-management system. 
“In practice, it means that the laboratory has all the quality systems in place to ensure high-quality test results. The GMP certification is a further step, meaning that laboratory testing is on the expected level for any pharmaceutical testing laboratory and manufacturer. It is a very strict certification.”

He further mentioned that the NCL is also licensed as a pharmaceutical manufacturer. “Although we do not manufacture, we have to comply with manufacturing standards.”
“It is rare for a pharmaceutical testing laboratory (such as the NCL) outside of a manufacturing context to qualify for both certifications. It means that the NCL complies with exceptionally strict standards for pharmaceutical labs anywhere in the world,” he said.
The certification provides the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, the World Health Organisation, and other national control laboratories around the world, with the confidence that the test results from the NCL can be trusted.


There can be no compromise for quality 

The NCL Quality Assurance Manager, Mrs Marlena Visagie, said, “It is essential that the NCL complies with the highest international quality-assurance standards to ensure that all the lot-release operations, such as manufacturing review and quality testing, are performed in a reliable and reproducible manner.”

“There can be no compromise when it comes to the quality of medicines which are made available to the public,” she said.

“What makes this special, is that the NCL does not only comply with international ISO/IEC standards for pharmaceutical testing, but also with the additional GMP standards required by a pharmaceutical manufacturer. This means that the NCL must ensure that all its operations, including everything from the way documents are compiled and stored, to the maintenance of equipment and infrastructure as well as staff competency, are performed according to international guidelines.”

All NCL staff share vision of excellence

Prof Litthauer said the NCL has a staff complement of 15 technical, administrative, and support staff.  Four staff members have PhDs, and the rest of the technical staff have master’s or bachelor’s degrees or are trained as medical technologists. “At the moment, our biggest problem is to get enough suitable space to expand our testing,” he said.

Prof Litthauer said, “All the staff members at the NCL share the vision of excellence, which makes this kind of achievement possible.”
The NCL will host the third annual meeting of the WHO NCL Network in November of this year and will then be reassessed again by the WHO as part of the normal three-year cycle of assessments.  

News Archive

New multi-purpose residences open in January 2015
2014-06-18

The UFS is currently busy with exciting new accommodation developments on both the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses.

This includes a new residence with a hotel and a conference/lecture hall on the western part of the Bloemfontein Campus and the building of another residence on the Qwaqwa Campus.

“We have done what was possible in our quest to maximise the number of beds available in the older residences on the Bloemfontein Campus,” says Quintin Koetaan, Senior Director: Housing and Residence Affairs at the UFS. “This we achieved by converting underutilised and unutilised dining halls and kitchens into bedrooms, which was totally insufficient to address the dire need for beds.”

“The new residence building will have different types of accommodation. I am very excited and look forward to the completion of this project. And this particular residence also brings a very exciting architectural design to the university environment.”

The residence, with multiple blocks for different accommodation, will be wheelchair friendly and numbering and signage will also be in braille. This futuristic-designed building will stand the test of time and will be provide student accommodation until 2030.The R60 million project is funded by the UFS and the Department of Higher Education and Training.

In step with international university accommodation trends – as with Yale's residential college system – this residence will house female first-years who will be mentored by postgraduate students. Postgraduates will be headhunted with the support of the Student Representative Council’s (SRC) postgraduate committee. These postgraduate students will represent all the faculties. Block A and B will accommodate 184 female first-years.

Each floor in this residence will have a study room, two lounges, a kitchen and a laundry for 25 students. Security will be very tight, with three levels of security: entrance to residence, corridor and individual bedroom door. There will also be perimeter camera surveillance and a security officer outside and inside the residence. 

 
Block C will accommodate postgraduate students. The ground floor will house eight single-bed roomed flats. The first floor will have 16 single rooms sharing a bathroom, kitchen and living room, as well as one double room with its own bathroom. The second floor will have 21 single rooms sharing a bathroom, kitchen and living room.

Block D will house 18 hotel-like en suites, with a dining room where breakfast will be served. The target market here will be visiting academics and other university-affiliated visitors. Prices will be competitive to those of local guesthouses and hotels.

Bookings have already opened. Guests will be able to book in and access the hotel desk 24/7. The dining room, accommodating up to 60 people, will not only be open for hotel guests, but also for postgraduate students and UFS staff. Bookings will therefore be essential.

The expansion of bed spaces also took place at the Qwaqwa Campus. In 2012 a 200-bed residence with a state of the art computer room was completed. As a follow-up to this development, another 248-bed residence is now being built. In this particular residence, there will be designated post-graduate accommodation for 48 students.

The project will be handed over at the end of October 2014, with the first intake planned for January 2015.

Another development at the Qwaqwa Campus is the Chancellor’s House Bed & Breakfast. This B&B, with its 5 en suite rooms, is open for business for all UFS staff.

 

For enquiries or bookings at this new accommodation facility, contact:

- Undergraduate (first-year ladies’ residence):
Monica Naidoo at +27(0)51 401 3455 or NaidooM@ufs.ac.za  

- Postgraduate:
Hein Badenhorst at +27(0)51 401 2602 or BadenH@ufs.ac.za  

- Hotel:
Ilze Nikolova at +27(0)51 401 9689 or NikolovaI@ufs.ac.za  

- Chancellor’s House Bed & Breakfast on Qwaqwa Campus:
Olga Molaudzi at +27(0)58 718 5030 or molaudziOD@qwa.ufs.ac.za

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