The Preclinical Drug Development Platform forms part of the commercial arm of the Faculty of the Health Sciences with academic research and service to the industry. The PCDDP research uses animal models for preclinical drug research, to determine the pharmacokinetics, safety, and efficacy of test items. We have a multi-disciplinary research team with expertise in biochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, analytical chemistry, veterinary sciences, and laboratory animal technology.

The PCDDP trains Master’s and Doctoral students in Pharmaceutical Sciences with projects focused on preclinical animal models, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK), bio-analytics, and ethnopharmacology (IKS). The research is applied to a range of disease areas, such as HIV, TB, malaria, diabetes, cancer, and depression and mood disorders.

The PCDDP collaborates with industry and academia such as South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA), CSIR, University of Pretoria, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, University of Zimbabwe and University of Cape Town.

The PCDDP is a member of the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC) , whose overall aim is to develop insights to the function of every murine gene. This will provide transformative insights into the genetic basis of diseases that will affect the clinical diagnosis and management to ultimately prevent, detect, diagnose and treat diseases.