FT.COM/MAGAZINEMARCH 7/82020 17
nottogosomewherewhereitiseasyformetowork,
orwhereIcangetbetterpaid.No.Mygoalistocome
heretoget knowledge that Ican also transmitto
otherpeoplebackinmycountry,thosewhodidnot
gettheopportunitytocomehere,totrainthem.”
In 2015, Landouréreceivedhis H3Africagrant
tostudythegeneticrootsofhereditaryneuro-
logicaldisorders suchasmusculardystrophy or
Huntington’s disease.Manysuch disordersare
being studiedelsewhere. Some even have acure.
“Butwehavenotevendonethesurveyofthesedis-
easesinAfrica,”hesays.
Five months ago,Landouré’slab discovereda
formofprogressive myoclonicepilepsycausedby
ageneticmutationthat had previouslyonlybeen
documentedintwo other patients,aGerman and
an Italian.The disordercan be treatedwith an
inexpensivecompoundcalledfolinicacid.“The
patientcouldnotevenholdtheirheadup,andwas
completely absent.Butwhenwesawhimlater,he
wasplaying!”hesays.“Soyoucanseehowgenetics
can changethat child’slife. This is what makes us
thinkthatweshouldcontinue.”
Walking through the lab,itisimpossiblenot to
recognisethe extreme limitationsmost African
scientistsmustworkunder.“It’scompletelydiffer-
ent,” Landourésays.AnNIH lab in the US comes
fullykitted-out,with expert colleaguesto bounce
ideasoff.“Buthere,whenIcame,theygive youan
emptyspace.Youbringeverything.”
Thelabhasanumberofstate-of-the-artinstru-
ments,keptunderfloralplasticsheeting.Shipping
costsanddieselforthegeneratoreatupalotofthe
budget.Landouré’s H3Africafundingisbeingused
fortheentireneurologydepartment.Itfundsbursa-
riesforstudents,theclinicdownstairsandtraining
forstudentsandfacultyalike–importantcapacity
building,thoughittakesawayfromtheresearch.
But hehopesitwill sustainmedicalresearchin
Mali for years to come,instillingtrust in people
who mightotherwisebe wary.“Ithink it’smore
acceptable to theAfrican populationif theysee
theirAfricanpeersdoingtheresearch,ratherthan
seeing people from outside,”hesays. “Thatcan
remindpeopleoftheolddays,ofpeoplecomingin
andtakingtheresourcesandgoingout.”In 1996,the Nigeriancity of Kano washit by
the worst meningitisoutbreak in Africa’s his-
tory,infecting120,000 people. Médecins Sans
Frontièresandothernon-governmentalorganisa-
tions convenedatthe infectious diseasehospital.
AnotherteamarrivedfromPfizer,theglobalphar-
maceuticalscompany,whichwasinthelatestages
oftestingameningitisdrug.
“[Pfizer] sawanopportunity foraphase 3
clinicaltrial,”saysBabatundeIrukera,thelawyer
whorepresentedNigeriainthe lawsuitthat
followed.“Theyscrambledtogetherateamand...
startedconductingtheirclinicaltrial.”Pfizerstaff
wore no badgesdifferentiatingthemselvesfrom
the humanitarianworkers,hesays.“People were
sendingtheirchildrentothemthinkingtheywere
going to treat them,”adds Irukera, nowhead of
Nigeria’sFederal Competition and Consumer
ProtectionCommission.
In 2009,Pfizer paid $75m to settle the result-
inglawsuit. “Itwas an indication of the kinds▶‘Whenwesayequityinsciencenow
isimportant,specificallywiththe
Africanpopulation,it’s notabout
charity...It’s absolutelynecessaryfor
ustodothesciencethewayitshould
bedone.Otherwise,wealllose’
AmbroiseWonkam,CapeTown,SouthAfricaLEE-ANN OLWAGE