Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

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

Top matriculants for Kovsies

2014-01-24

From left are: Saneliswe Khambule, Lungile Mkhungo, Jannie de Wet, Anje Venter, Siqiniseko Buthelezi and Abrille Beukes.
Photo: Hannes Pieterse

Hailing from top schools in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Naushad Mayat, Lungile Mkhungo and Siqiniseko Buthelezi share 20 distinctions between them. Leaving the province of the Zulu Kingdom for Bloemfontein, all three are at Kovsies to study as doctors.

Naushad obtained eight distinctions, an achievement that placed him in the top ten matriculants in KwaZulu-Natal. The former learner from Glenwood High School in Durban came fourth in the Umlazi District and tenth overall in the province. Enrolling for a degree in Medicine, he will join the list of outstanding health professionals Kovsies produce every year.

Lungile, who matriculated from Kingsway High School, attained seven distinctions and her average percentage was 90%. She received distinctions in English – 90%, IsiZulu – 94%, Mathematics – 83%, History – 92%, Physics – 89%, Life Sciences – 89% and Life Orientation – 93%. Lungile is not only clever, but also performed well in sports at her school, participating in netball, soccer and athletics. This future doctor is a proud resident of Wag-'n-Bietjie residence.

Siqiniseko made history at his school, Maritzburg College, becoming the first black Head Prefect at the 150-year-old school, the oldest boys' high school in KZN and one of the oldest schools in South Africa. A gifted learner excelling in sport, culture and academics, Siqiniseko obtained five distinctions (English, Afrikaans, Life Orientation, Accounting and Life Sciences). His sporting prowess has seen him captaining Maritzburg College's first rugby team, as well as the KZN Academy team.

The three are joined by fellow KwaZulu-Natal resident, Saneliswe Khambule, Namibian Abrille Beukes and Free Staters Anje Venter and Jannie de Wet.

Saneliswe, a former learner of Menzi High School in Umlazi, received five distinctions in her final-year exams. The Emily Hobhouse resident registered for a Forensic Science degree and plans on doing her doctoral studies in this exciting career field.

Abrille Beukes is another future doctor and is all the way from Windhoek in Namibia. Abrille obtained a ‘one’ in all her subjects, the highest possible mark in the Namibian school system. The Windhoek-born student received high levels in Mathematics, Accounting, Physical Science, Biology, Afrikaans and English. As second best student in her home country, she will register for a Medicine degree.

Anja, the Free State’s top achiever, received an average percentage of 93% in the matric final exams. The former Eunice student obtained nine distinctions, an achievement that placed her in the national top 100 matriculants. Anja enrolled for a BSc Actuarial Science degree and will be joined in class by former school friend, Jannie de Wet, who obtained a whopping ten distinctions. Jannie and Anja attended Universitas Primary School together, with Jannie finishing his school career at Jim Fouché High School, and just like Anja, he will also enrol for a BSc Actuarial Science degree.

Jannie obtained distinctions in Afrikaans, English, Mathematics, Mathematics (third paper), Life Orientation, Accounting, Physical Science, Life Science, Economics and Information Technology. Jannie is also the Volksblad and the University of the Free State’s 2013 Matriculant of the Year.

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept