“My turning point came when I realised that, because of my depression and hopelessness, although I was not yet dead, I was not living either. I made a decision to beat cancer. And I made the decision to follow my dreams and make them come true – to truly live,” said Pilgrim. Not only did Pilgrim beat cancer, he also survived a heart attack, which has again reinforced his enthusiasm for life and driven him further to encourage others to safeguard their own health and live life to the fullest.

“Mark is exactly the type of person that motivates Novartis and the partnerships that we seek out,” said Dr Thomas Kowallik, CEO of Novartis South Africa. “Although our mission is to discover new ways to improve and extend people’s lives, and we seek to do that through providing innovative healthcare solutions and affordable medicines to those who would not necessarily otherwise have access to them, we also recognise that we can’t cure everything. So above all, we seek to make a difference - to improve quality of life and where possible, extend that so people can live better, longer lives. We also recognise that the only way to do that is to bring people together who share our vision.” 

Introducing the second Partner Summit, Kowallik explained that the Summit was initiated with the purpose of encouraging dialogue between key role players in South African healthcare. This year’s Summit focus was on ‘Education partnering for the science-based industry to re-imagine medicine. Delegates included Novartis associates and partners in the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare professionals, heads of various university departments, scientists, funders, government officials, and members of the media.

The highlight of the morning, which reinforced Novartis’ patient-centric approach and its commitment to ensuring the longevity of quality, innovative healthcare, was the first-hand description by two participants in the Novartis Next Generation Scientist (NGS) programme. This state-of-the-art science and mentorship programme run by Novartis in collaboration with various South African universities and the University of Basel, Switzerland aims to elevate scientific and leadership capability in emerging countries by inviting carefully selected scientists from these countries to participate in an intensive three-month internship in Switzerland. The interns work on research projects and participate in leadership development during this time.

Thandiswa Ngcungcu (PhD candidate) described how the mentorship programme had enabled her to solve a nearly 40-year-old puzzle of the genetic basis of keratolytic winter erythema, a disfiguring condition of the skin on the hands. “When I found the mutation, I felt like I had changed the world,” said Ngcungcu.

During her mentorship, Dr Nadia Carstens, PhD, similarly identified the mutation responsible for macular corneal dystrophy, a genetic cause of progressive blindness. “These discoveries, that would not have been possible in our country without the NGS programme, not only set us on the path to finding a treatment, but enabled us immediately to advise and counsel affected families so they understand the prognosis and chance of passing the disease on to their children” explained Dr Carstens. “It is wonderful to be able to provide comfort and hope, where before there was only fear and uncertainty. Furthermore, we are able to bring the skills we have learned back to South Africa and share them with our colleagues and future South African scientists.”

“Those breakthrough moments are very exciting,” said Nico Bosch, director of cardiovascular and metabolic medicine at Novartis South Africa. “There is a lot of research linked to such discoveries that is producing new treatments. However, what I find exciting are the partnerships that enable us to make a difference to peoples’ health right now by providing medicines in countries and communities where these treatments would otherwise not be available. The Malaria Initiative with the World Health Organisation is finding new solutions to this devastating ever-changing disease and, in the meantime, making sure that affordable effective antimalarial treatment is available to more than 250 000 vulnerable malaria patients every day. Through the multi-organisational collaborative Leprosy Post-Exposure Program, we anticipate that leprosy will become a disease of the past by the year 2020.”

“Through our more than 23 000 scientists, more than 200 innovative new research projects, dedicated medical, marketing and sales teams, and most importantly, through productive partnerships, Novartis is in a privileged position to lead global patient care. That is a big responsibility. But it is one that we welcome because we know that we don’t have to do it alone. We are in good company with others who share our mission – to re-imagine medicine,”  Kowallik said. 

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