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ABOUT

ERADA Technology Alliance Ltd (ERADA)

ERADA was founded by Dr Benji Pretorius and Dr Richard Schmidt, located in Musina, South Africa.

This was done after a unique collaborative effort between the South Africans, Johns Hopkins University and Dinglasan Malaria Laboratory in Florida, US. From the drastic need for new innovation in fighting Malaria,  the SMAART diagnostic technology was born and inspired Dr Pretorius to marry the science with solid, ethical business. The fight to END Malaria will be stronger than before and will drive the vision to eliminate Malaria and other infectious diseases.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

 “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
— Steve Jobs, co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Apple Inc.

At Erada Technology Alliance, we love what we do. What could be better than to have the core determination to deliver a product to the world that could save 450 000 lives per year, prevent the long-term debilitating effects on millions of others and save world medical organizations tens of billions of dollars. We are truly satisfied and we believe we are doing great work.

We named our company ‘Erada’ because of one of the definitions of the word – “The will to conquer against all odds”. As an effective team we are determined to focus our ability to tackle the most difficult medical diagnostic problems with courage and innovation. We will succeed in our goal, of that we have no doubt, we have the right people, and organizations do not create success – people do.

We will nurture our people, we will develop close relationships with our supplier partners and we will display the courage and innovation needed to provide a solution the world needs.

Our Vision

Global, large scale screening to eradicate and therefore finally eliminate detectable and treatable infectious diseases, including Malaria. 

Our Mission

ERADA Rapid Diagnostic Technology to be developed and brought to the global market:
  • For accurate detection of early asymptomatic infection and disease carriers.
  • For accurate diagnosis of acute symptomatic infection.
  • To be the Diagnostic Technology of choice to support Vaccination programs and further Vaccination development.
  • To be the Diagnostic Technology of choice to support Treatment – and Monitoring of infection.

PARTNERS

ERADA collaborates with the following partners:

Dinglasan Malaria Laboratory

Dinglasan Malaria Laboratory established in 2009 as part of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute prior to its transfer to the University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute in 2016. 

The lab leverages multi-omics approaches to discover, validate and eventually develop enabling technologies focused on malaria elimination and eradication.

Oasis Diagnostics® Corporation 

Oasis Diagnostics® Corporation founded in 2002 to address a growing need for non-invasive saliva based technology for rapid testing, sample collection, and molecular diagnostics [DNA, RNA and proteins] in the Life Sciences and Diagnostics areas.

The Company is dedicated to meeting the need for more effective screening tools, which may be applied to the early detection of diseases and medical disorders, utilising non-invasive test specimens, particularly oral fluids (saliva).

Fusion Antibodies

Fusion Antibodies  a Contract Research Organisation (CRO) established in 2001 and located in Northern Ireland, UK. Its mission is to enable biopharmaceutical and diagnostic companies to develop innovative products in a timely and cost-effective manner for the benefit of the global healthcare industry.

Montpellier

Award-winning Montpellier is proud to be associated with ERADA Technology Alliance and it’s world-first SALVA Malaria Rapid Test. Montpellier comprise three world-beating marketing services consultancies,  providing ERADA with top drawer public relations capabilities delivered by trained journalists, mouth-watering branding design and creative services and state-of-the-art digital and web services.

Research Collaboration

Erada Technology Alliance Ltd is interested in partnering with academic laboratories that will support the mission of the company and the development and testing of our existing technologies.  We welcome the opportunity to work with such labs through collaborative research agreements, with the stipulation that funds from Erada Technology Alliance for a specific scope of work can only support indirect costs up to 30% of the total direct budget. Higher indirect cost rates cannot be accepted.

If this type of collaboration is of interest to your organisation, please contact us through the contact page and one of our senior Management team will be pleased to open discussions with you.

IMAGE CREDIT: MMV (Medicines for Malaria Venture)

SMAART

Saliva-based Malaria Asymptomatic & Asexual Rapid Test

This technology is a non-invasive diagnostic for the detection of sexual stage Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes, a critical component for successful human-mosquito-human transmission of the malaria parasite. Gametocytes, comprising <2% of the parasite biomass, circulate in tandem with low-level asexual blood stage parasites in asymptomatic or subclinical infections. These asexual blood stages cyclically rise in concentration leading to clinical disease (malaria) resulting in higher numbers of gametocytes as well, which drive transmission to mosquitoes. Saliva is used to test for the presence of the gametocytes in the microvasculature using high-affinity antibodies to a parasite protein that is abundant in saliva in asymptomatic individuals.  Importantly, the diagnostic targets a novel Biomarker of malaria parasites to combat the threat posed by naturally occurring and spreading mutations in the parasite that are rendering the top of the line blood-based rapid tests ineffective. Since the technology is designed to detect very low parasite numbers, it has immediate utility in confirming malaria infection in symptomatic individuals that present to the clinic.

MEET THE TEAM

Managing Director

Dr Benjamin (Benji) Pretorius

As the Founder and Principle of Erada Technology Alliance Ltd, Benji brings a great deal to the table as Managing Director. Educated in South Africa, he initially studied as a Biokineticist and became a lecturer in Physiology and Anatomy at the University of North-West, where he was later recognized for his achievements by the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly as part of their ‘Future Leader’ award program.

His skills as a General Medical practitioner  were honed at a number of hospitals throughout South Africa and he undertook appointments as an Emergency Unit Doctor which he still holds today. Throughout his time as a medical practitioner Benji has always been driven by the challenges and rewards of research, resulting in him becoming Director Operations and Clinical Research Unit Head at Parexel, Port Elizabeth.

Benji is still actively involved at the sharp end of medicine, as a Senior Partner in a very busy Family Medicine and General Medical practice in Musina, where he counts amongst his major corporate clients, De Beers, Coal of Africa, SF Health and Swanepoel & Partners. It was here that Benji and his partner founded Musina Ventures Ltd, a company focused on Strategic Investment in medical technology and general business consultancy services.

Like many medical practioners in Africa, Benji has faced the challenges of dealing with Malaria throughout his career. His expertise was in demand by the prestigious John Hopkins University in the USA where he has provided Malaria Management and Diagnostics consultancy. One event in Benji’s life that was an inspiration in his drive to find a major contribution in the reduction of Malaria was when he was unfortunate enough to contract the disease himself. He knows first-hand the debilitating effects of Malaria and is acutely aware that the ability to rapidly and accurately diagnose the disease is a significant step in treating patients before long-term damage is sustained. The added benefit of being able to accurately identify ‘carriers’ of the disease will also provide a significant contribution towards the ultimate eradication of Malaria.

Benji’s vision, drive and experience will lead Erada Technology in our mission to identify and eradicate Malaria. In what little spare time Benji has, he is a devoted family man to his Wife and two Daughters.

 

DIRECTOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

George Duncan

As Director of New Business Development, George is responsible for identifying new business partners, suppliers and markets to meet the vison and goals of Erada Technology Alliance. He ensures, in coordination with our Marketing Group, that our path to providing operational products to our clients is as short and effective as possible.

 

George began his career as a military pilot with the UK’s Royal Air Force. He then set up a number of very successful businesses associated with ‘Aviation training’ and was one of the first people to implement the now-mandatory program designed to reduce human error in aviation, worldwide. The program is recognized as having significantly reduced the number of aircraft accidents caused by human error in both military and commercial aviation environments across the globe. George then incorporated this successful strategy in both the petrochemical and medical industry.

 

George has provided cutting edge consultancy to medical and surgical teams in general practices and hospitals, focused on reducing human errors which can lead to situations causing unnecessary harm to patients. Human error in life and business critical situations is a problem across industry and the medical sector is no exception. His expertise in fatigue and the limits of Human performance have been widely acknowledged resulting in him being invited as a key note speaker at symposiums around the world.

 

Having been responsible for more than five successful start-up businesses and the timely recovery and development of other multi-national businesses, his experience and innovation will help drive our business development plan forward and his expertise in leadership and Human Factors will be of benefit to all of our team and our business as a whole.

 

George is married with four children and his passions include reading and studying quantum mechanics.

 

Director Clinical Development

Dr Richard Schmidt

Dr Richard Schmidt is an experienced general family practice doctor, emergency medicine physician, occupational medical practitioner and business entrepreneur.

 

His career started with 7 Medical Battalion Group, the specialist Airborne Medical Battalion of the South African Military Health Service. In this group he rendered emergency medical support to the South African Special – and Airborne Forces.

 

His MBChB (medicine and surgery) degree from the University of Pretoria, was completed during his military career with general practitioner work following in New Zealand and South Africa.

 

He qualified as an Occupational Medical Practitioner, also through the University of Pretoria, and currently provides day to day support to De Beers South Africa and various other industries as part of the occupational health practice in Musina, South Africa.

 

He played an essential role in building the Swanepoel & Partners medical practice in Musina, since 2013 and still manages this busy practice everyday with annual growth and successes. Malaria management and interaction with key opinion leaders in the the infectious disease and Malaria fields, supported the initiative to found Musina Ventures (Pty) Ltd and Erada Technology Alliance Ltd (Erada).

 

Dr Schmidt with his strong clinical, analytical and practical business skills, provide the foundation to act as the clinical development director for Erada and will function at top level together with the likes of Dinglasan Malaria laboratory in Florida, US and other associated clinical development partners.

 

His passion for people, life and finding solutions to make a difference, make him a loving and caring family man, with high ethical medical and business values.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEWS & MEDIA

Such an important reminder that the fight against #malaria cannot be carried by one region alone. It’s a global effort.

Such an important reminder that the fight against #malaria cannot be carried by one region alone. It’s a global effort. #endmalaria #globaldisease Africa’s #malaria burden undermines our collective social and economic development goals. With strong political will, country ownership, partnerships, and adequate resources, we can overturn Africa’s stalled trajectory toward malaria elimination. #endmalaria #WorldMalariaReport

Erada’s resilient reminder on World Mosquito Day

On the 20th of August 1897, Sir Ronald Ross revealed the link between female Anapoles mosquitoes and malaria in humans. 125 years later, World Mosquito Day is a potent reminder of the enduring existence of one of the world’s most pervasive diseases. Despite decades of research, detection, treatment, and management, there is still so much…

World Malaria Day – an Erada message

Today, 25 April 2022, marks another World Malaria Day; an opportunity for the global community to reaffirm the continuing efforts to eradicate one of the world’s oldest and deadliest diseases. International collaboration, research, and innovation, have provided us with a once in a generation opportunity to achieve that goal, and given the disruption caused by…

Urgent action to get malaria prevention back on track in the wake of Covid-19

Dr Benji Pretorius comments following new data on Covid-19 released by the World Health Organization (WHO) which shows an increase in malaria deaths directly related to Covid-19 disruption. According to the latest WHO World Malaria Report, released on 6 December 2021, there were an estimated 241 million malaria cases and 627 000 malaria deaths worldwide…

We have a once in a generation opportunity to end malaria – we cannot miss this chance

Dr Benji Pretorius, experienced medical practitioner and malaria survivor, addresses the fundamental points raised in two research reports published in 2021 and why the role of frontline prevention measures will evolve in the years to come.     There can be little doubt that Covid-19 has impacted the progress of eradicating diseases and will continue to…

The three key tools transforming the fight against malaria

Tackling malaria is a challenge we as a global community have been trying to overcome for decades. New medications and protection from mosquitoes are effective shields, make no mistake, but now is the time to go on the offensive. Recent innovations have turned the fight on malaria in our favour. Let’s explore them in more…

Keeping communities protected on World Mosquito Day

August 20th marks the date of Sir Ronald Ross’ discovery of the link between female anopheles mosquitoes and the transmission of malaria to humans, all the way back in 1897. This has led the way to today’s research into the malaria parasite and how to protect communities from infected mosquitoes. Over the course of the…

The Search For The Holy Grail

World Malaria Day on the 25th of April was an opportunity to come together, to both promote the excellent progress made towards global targets and to keep a spotlight on the work that lies ahead. Where targets have already been met, this has been facilitated by strong political commitment, medical intervention and financial investment. It...

Africa Day 2021 – the best of social media

Malaria is still claiming lives… we need to keep up the pressure.

With World Malaria Day on April 25 and efforts to eradicate the disease by 2050 on track, it was a pleasure to catch up with our very own George Duncan, Director of New Business Development. As pioneers of innovative solutions against disease in developing countries, ERADA plays a key part in the fight against malaria….

SOCIAL MEDIA

Malaria Facts and Figures

CONTACT US

ERADA Technology Alliance Ltd.

ICT Avenue, The Core

Cybercity, Ebene

Mauritius
T: +27 (061) 119-1591

E: info@eradatechnology.com

www.eradatechnology.com

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