english questionnaire - World Health Organization

Name and Surname Institution Role in Project
Professor Viness
Pillay
Assoc. Prof. Yahya E.
Choonara
Wits University,
Department of
Pharmacy and
Pharmacology, South
Africa
Wits University,
Department of
Pharmacy and
Pharmacology, South
Africa
Principal Investigator - Prof. Viness Pillay has
extensive experience in drug delivery
technologies. In 1999 he served as a Senior
Researcher in Formulation Development at
Scolar Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Washington
State, USA. Since then he has risen within the
academic ranks of international institutions
including an Associate Professorship at
Florida A&M University’s College of Pharmacy
and Pharmaceutical Sciences (USA) and
currently as a Personal Professor of
Pharmaceutics at Wits University. During his
PhD candidacy and at Scolar Pharmaceuticals
Inc. in his role as a pharmaceutical scientist, he
was responsible for the development of a
monolithic tablet for controlled drug release
which culminated into a granted patent in the
USA (US Patent # 6,090,411). The technology
was subsequently licensed to a US
pharmaceutical company and currently
benefits many patients globally. Prof. Pillay’s
research is vast and includes the design of
oramucosal drug delivery formulations for
treating diseases of poverty within Africa and
other vulnerable patient populations globally.
Site-specific delivery of peptides, proteins and
drugs via the oral route using stabilizing
polymer glasses are further areas of his
research. This includes the techno-economic
analysis of potential blockbuster
pharmaceutical drug delivery technologies for
infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, TB and
Malaria. Prof. Pillay and his team of
researchers are among the very few academic
researchers in Africa who are able to develop
innovative drug products that can be
commercialized. Prof. Pillay is a corresponding
author of more than 100 international
scientific publications and is an inventor of
over 25 patents filed in the field of drug
delivery systems design. Prof. Pillay is the
brainchild behind the WaferMat formulation
for potentially treating paediatric HIV/AIDS.
Co-Investigator - Prof. Yahya E. Choonara is an
Associate Professor in Pharmaceutics and a
senior formulation scientist at Wits University
in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is involved in
translational research within the team and is
one of the Editorial Board Members of the
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