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FARMOVS – 47 years of bioanalytical experience leads pre-clinical and clinical trials

01 October 2021 | Story Lunga Luthuli and Vicky Simpson | Photo Supplied

Anton Engelbrecht _ Farmovs researcher — Anton Engelbrecht, FARMOVS Bioanalysis Specialist.

“At FARMOVS, we have the opportunity to work with the world’s top pharmaceutical companies, where we form part of the evaluation of labelled and/or conjugated antigens and antibodies that are developed for accurate quantification of endogenous and pharmaceutical compounds. Alternatively, commercially available kits and reagents are also used for the same purpose if the sponsor cannot supply the customised antigens/antibodies. The developed assay methods are put through a rigorous validation assessment to confirm the selectivity, sensitivity, and robustness of the assay,” says Anton Engelbrecht, FARMOVS Bioanalysis Specialist.

FARMOVS, affiliated to the University of the Free State and operating from the Bloemfontein Campus, is a leading clinical research organisation (CRO) with a unique advantage. As the only on-site ISO15189-accredited and GLP-certified pharmacokinetic laboratory on the African continent, with numerous successful inspections by leading international regulators, it offers the highest quality bioanalytical services in a variety of biological matrices for the development of pharmaceutical products.

Engelbrecht says: “The team of bioanalytical experts thrives on the excitement generated by new discoveries that lead to better treatment of a variety of physiological diseases.”

Advanced technology backed by 47 years of bioanalytical experience

The clinical research organisation prides itself on advanced technology, backed by 47 years of bioanalytical experience. It has developed more than 580 validated analytical methods that adhere to the International Council for Harmonisation and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. FARMOVS’ analytical methods have been used in more than 3 000 pre-clinical and clinical trials, contributing to the manufacturing of pharmaceutical drugs that are now used by households across the globe.

At FARMOVS, Engelbrecht says, it is a “world filled with novel methods of analysis and subsequent technological integration that expands the horizons of clinical research forming an important part of the discovery and production of new life-saving medicines that is constantly improving the quality of life of people all over the world”.

Engelbrecht says: “New technology and innovation should be the building blocks of any laboratory, and among these are the three fastest sample production members of our Immunochemistry Laboratory team – the STARLet pipettors.”

“We chose the Microlab® STARLet apparatus by Hamilton, because of its ability to perform sample analysis in large quantities at a greater speed by means of robotic pipetting and robotic automated microplate reading, which is a semi-automated process.”

He shared his excitement about improvements in the field of immunoassay development for the purposes of pharmaceutical analysis. This involves the preparation of unique immunoanalytical reagents, analysis of new categories of compounds, methodology, and instrumentation. The most important examples in this field are the continuous development of bead-based immunoassays.

Staying competitive in the industry

Immunoassay methods, such as radioimmunoassay (RIA) and enzyme immunoassay (EIA), among others, are also used at FARMOVS to analyse macromolecules for clients. “The RIA method is used for the determination of several pharmaceutically important compounds in biological fluids. RIA requires a sample containing the antigen of interest, a complementary antibody, and a radiolabelled version of the antigen. To increase the selectivity of an assay, all samples are pre-treated to eliminate high molecular weight endogenous matrix components, including anti-drug antibodies,” explains Engelbrecht.

Although FARMOVS has adequate technology to provide market-related results, the plan is to expand the team to include a multiplex platform that is a sensitive, fully automated immunoassay platform with multiplexing and custom assay capability. “This will pave the way to use an even more sensitive method to quantify biomarkers in the fields of oncology, neurology, cardiology, inflammation, and infectious disease. We aim to remain competitive in our industry, so naturally we must recruit the brightest and most evolved to join the team,” he says.

News Archive

UFS can lead SA in race relations - Ramphele

2010-08-06

Pictured are: Dr Boesak and Dr Ramphele
Photo: Mangaliso Radebe

The University of the Free State (UFS) could well be a perfect model of excellence in race relations that the whole of South Africa could emulate.

This was said by Dr Mamphela Ramphele, the first African to be a Managing Director of the World Bank, during the Anti-Racism Network in Higher Education (ARNHE) Colloquium held at the UFS recently.

“Healing circles need to be constructed on this campus to address issues raised by the Reitz incident,” she said.

“You might yet be the pioneer of what needs to happen on a nation-wide level.

“Can we confidently commit today to go on this quest for a true humanity and walk together as fellow citizens and strive for a more human face for our society? That is our challenge. That is what the UFS is called to give leadership to.”

“It is this human face which has the power to liberate us from the body of death and strengthen us in our struggle for meaningful life together in South Africa,” added one of the main speakers, Dr Allan Boesak, a cleric and former anti-apartheid activist.

However, said Dr Ramphele, this could only be achieved if all South Africans, black and white, abandoned the fear for each other that was hindering, if not stalling, progress in this regard.

“Fear of each other is the most important impediment to the sustainability of our journey into a society united in our diversity,” she said.

“People in this country are afraid to stand up and be counted, including many vice-chancellors and clerics. They are afraid of being seen to be difficult, and that is a major problem. Fear is the most destructive emotion that you can have because it makes you really incompetent and unable to respond to challenges.”

She said the biggest impediment, though, to ending racism was denial. “White people deny vehemently that they are or have ever been racist,” she said.

“We need to go through a process of acknowledging our wounds and scars from our racist past and present missteps in public policy.”

“Instead of saying they are sorry, those who are conscious of their whiteness should rather say what they are sorry for,” said another main speaker, Prof. Dennis Francis, the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the UFS.

On the other hand, according to Dr Boesak, blacks were and still are, to a large extent, also to blame for their own ongoing oppression. “The key here was the acknowledgement of our sheepish timidity, our complicity,” he said.

The Chairperson of ARNHE, Prof. Norman Duncan, had this to say: “If we are to confront and eradicate racism in higher education institutions, we should not do so to create comfort zones for ourselves.”

The theme of this ARNHE Colloquium was Black consciousness and those conscious of their whiteness. It was presented by the International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice at the UFS.

Media Release:
Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt@ufs.ac.za
6 August 2010

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