African genomics project launched

The tenth anniversary of the completion of the first draft of the human genome, which cost US$3 billion, was marked earlier this month by critics saying that, while science had benefited, there had been none of the major health breakthroughs that were promised by the endeavour.

Mayosi acknowledged that the project is unlikely to yield quick returns but said the long-term pay-off could be great.

“There’s been a huge investment … over the past 20 years and although we’ve learnt a lot about biology, mechanisms of disease, it has not yet translated to benefits in the clinic and in the population level on the scale that was expected.

“So I think everybody expects that this is a long-term project and even this investment is unlikely to yield quick returns. But I think the benefits come about through training of people, scientists, building of infrastructure.

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