Prof. Motlalepula Matsabisa
Prof. Motlalepula G. Matsabisa
Professor of Pharmacology and Director – AMITD Research & Teaching Platform
Department of Pharmacology
School of Clinical Medicine
Faculty: Health Sciences
University of the Free State
PO Box: 339, Bloemfontein 9300,
Republic of South Africa
Phone: Office: +27(0) 51 401 7452
Mobile: +27(0) 82 78 1972 0 (What’s Up & Voice calls)
E-mail: MatsabisaMG@ufs.ac.za (office)
Motlalepula.Matsabisag@gmail.com (Private)
Prof Matsabisa holds a PhD in Pharmacology. He is currently the Director of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems (Health) Lead Programme (IKS) within the Department of Pharmacology, School of Clinical Medicine, and Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State. Prof Matsabisa is a Guest Professor at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicines (BUCM). He is the Director of the DSI-TIA-UFS IKS platform known as African Medicines Innovations and Technology Development (AMITD). He is member of the University of the University of Free State Senate. Professor Matsabisa is the visiting Professor at the Busitema University in Uganda.
Prof Matsabisa is the co-chairperson of the Complementary Medicines Committee (CMC) of South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and a reviewer of Complimentary medicines product dossiers. He is the vice-chair of the CMC – Pharmaceutical and Analytical committee. Prof Matsabisa has experience and knowledge in medicine regulation and understands the South African Medicines Act (Act 101 of 1965). He is currently a member and chairperson of an expert Working Group set up by SAHPRA to advice on the establishment of a regulatory and registration framework for African Traditional Medicines proprietary commercial products. I am a member of the Presidential Cannabis and Hemp Development Masterplan. Prof Matsabisa is the Chairperson of the WHO Afro Regional Expert Committee on Traditional Medicines. Prof Matsabisa is the Co-Chairperson of the WHO 2nd Global Traditional Medicines Summit. Member of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative medicine. He continues to be used as a resource person for the SADC on research in traditional medicines and IKS.
Prof Matsabisa serves in the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) traditional Medicines Standards Committee which is part of the international standards settings for herbal and traditional medicinal products. He is a deputy president of the South African Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (SASBCP). He is a member of the African Organisation for Standardization (ARSO) on herbal medicines standards and pharmacopoeia. He is a member of the Department of Health’s Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) on medical cannabis and a member of the government’s government interdepartmental committee on cannabis as well as a committee member for NDoH Traditional medicines committee for international relations.
Prof Matsabisa is internationally recognized and has served in the advisory expert group for the WHO Traditional Medicines Summit alongside the G20 Health Ministerial summit in India and co-chaired the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicines Task Force and editorial board. Prof Matsabisa was key and instrumental to bringing the South African G20 Research Innovation Working Group (RIWG) and the Bioeconomy Working group to be hosted first in the African continent and hosted jointly between DSTI and the UFS.
Prof Matsabisa is a Member of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Task Force and a ILAE Medical Therapies Commission, for the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). He has been integral and organization member of the United Nations Science Summit since UNGA 77 – UNGA 79. Professor Matsabisa is currently leading a group of BRICS researchers and Scientists in establishing the BRICS Natural Medicines Institute which has obtained the initial approval by the BRICS. He is now planning together with Government, to host at UFS the first working group of the BRICS natural medicines institute in September 2025.
Prof Matsabisa is currently has set up clinical trial platforms for assessing, evaluating claims for cures based on the use of traditional medicines and possible mechanisms of action/s of these products. Prof Matsabisa is now heading as a Project Leader, a long COVID-19 joint clinical trials with Beijing University of Chinese Medicines. He is now involved in entrepreneurship training of indigenous communities and runs projects based on the promotion of the application of scientific research into practical implementation of projects oriented to creating permanent sources of income, promoting the development of sustainable enterprises and their integration into the value adding processes of industrial development and commercialization of products derived from medicinal plants. He is currently a recipient of the TIA Pharmacology platform and also received High End Infrastructure to build an industry around R&D, formulation and production of African Medicines based proprietary products. Prof Matsabisa has special interests and experience in herbal medicines formulation, quality control, manufacturing as well as packaging thereof. He holds a PCT and patent on 7 novel compounds isolated from a medicinal plant with antimalarial action. Prof Matsabisa has successfully filed and obtained trademark protection on his research work and product prototypes for Immune modulators, Indigenous teas and cannabis. He has developed health products from plants. He has several research projects with communities nationally in South Africa where there are multimillion rand infrastructure and human development in 4 communities in the Eastern Cape (x2) and North West (x2) provinces.
Academically, Prof Matsabisa has supervised and successfully overall graduated honours (over 50), MSc (over 40, with current 15 in 2025 registered at UFS of which 11 graduated and many with distinctions), PhD (over 15) and over 30 postdoctoral students (with current 18 in 2025) under his supervision, teaching and training in the pharmacology. He has many scientific publications in natural products research (see annexed list of publications). He is a recipient in 2 consecutive years of best publication performance (Gold Award 2023 and 2024) for the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State. He made numerous scientific presentations both nationally and internationally on issues of traditional medicines research, traditional knowledge, policy and benefit-sharing and intellectual property rights. He has also made numerous plenary lectures and scientific presentations at both local, regional and in international scientific fora and where in most of these he has been invited as the guest speaker or keynote speaker.
Prof Matsabisa is a reviewer for many scientific journals. He is an editorial board member of several scientific journals. He is an external examiner of Masters and PhD students from national and international universities with over 30 years of postgraduate student supervision. Prof Matsabisa has reviewed many promotions of academic staff to professorial promotions nationally and internationally. Prof Matsabisa is PI in many national and international scientific research projects. Prof Matsabisa has reviewed many students’ theses at Masters and PhD levels for international and nation universities. He has reviewed several promotions to professorial positions of academic staff nationally and internationally.
Professor Matsabisa has pioneered in developing and managing huge infrastructural projects and initiatives which have become the continental leader in traditional medicines research and development. At the South African Medical Research Council, he established the first and successful intramural research Unit on Indigenous knowledge Systems and built the state-of-the-art research and development laboratories – first of its kind in the continent. Second is at the UFS, Professor Matsabisa has developed the traditional medicines research within the department of Pharmacology, School of Clinical Medicines and Faculty of Health Sciences, which is a flagship program of the UFS and a national lead program with annual not less than 200 applications for Honours and 50 Masters degree applications. Prof Matsabisa has within this program developed another world class research laboratories with GLP, SANAS and SAHPRA approvable status. He is the director of a national Research Platform on traditional medicines, the African Medicines Innovations and Technologies Development (AMITD). AMITD hosts international students at D and M level and trains international and national scientists and researchers as part of its research exchange programs. The platform provides research and testing services for communities, traditional health practitioners and the contract research and services for the pharmaceutical industry. He raised over multimillion ZAR250 million in research projects with annual grants of not less than ZAR20 million.
Professor Matsabisa next infrastructure program is the newly UFS rectorate and council approved business plan to establish a WHO cGMP pharmaceutical company and build such as a spin out of the AMITD platform. He has raised funding of R58m to build a cGMP herbal medicines factory. He is now looking for serious investors in the pharmaceutical company private business. Currently he is raising funding for developing an integrated health facility/clinic to pilot the joint practice of traditional medicines and western modern medicine.