5 March 2025
Geneva — The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is delighted to announce the appointment of a new member to our Governance Board. We warmly welcome Dr Ntobeko Ntusi as our new Board member.
Dr Ntobeko Ntusi is the President and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC). He joined SAMRC from the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital where he was the Chair and Head of the Department of Medicine. He is a distinguished and highly respected figure in the medical community as a key global opinion leader. His lifelong passion for evidence-based healthcare, health systems research, non-communicable disease multimorbidity, and universal health coverage has positioned him as a trailblazer in medical research. Prof. Ntusi obtained a BSc(Hons) degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Haverford College, USA, and an MBChB degree from the University of Cape Town. He is a qualified physician and cardiologist, and holds numerous additional qualifications, including a DPhil in Cardiovascular Medicine from the University of Oxford, St. Cross College, and an MD in Cardiology from the University of Cape Town. Prof. Ntusi also provides key scientific leadership globally through boards and scientific advisory committees of numerous organisations he serves on.
More information about MPP’s Governance Board
Press and Media
The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nations-backed public health organisation working to increase access to and facilitate the development of life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries. Through its innovative business model, MPP partners with civil society, governments, international organisations, industry, patient groups, and other stakeholders to prioritise and license needed medicines and pool intellectual property to encourage generic manufacture and the development of new formulations.
To date, MPP has signed agreements with 22 patent holders for 13 HIV antiretrovirals, one HIV technology platform, three hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals, a tuberculosis treatment, a cancer treatment, four long-acting technologies, a post-partum haemorrhage medicine, three oral antiviral treatments for COVID-19 and 16 COVID-19 technologies.
MPP was founded by Unitaid, which continues to be MPP’s main funder. MPP’s work on access to essential medicines is also funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Government of Canada, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Government of Flanders. MPP’s activities in COVID-19 are undertaken with the financial support of the Japanese Government, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the German Agency for International Cooperation, and SDC.