Pakistan’s scientific community has achieved a landmark success as the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has awarded its prestigious Chemistry Biology Interface Horizon Prize 2026 to the Global Neglected Tropical Diseases Network, an international consortium of researchers from seven countries.
The Pakistani chapter of the network was led by renowned scientist Prof Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, Coordinator General of OIC-COMSTECH and recipient of the Mustafa (pbuh) Prize.
The award recognises the consortium’s pioneering work titled “Development of new tools to deliver the identification, and chemical and genetic validation, of multiple new drug targets for leishmaniasis and Chagas’ disease.”
The breakthrough research focuses on developing innovative methods to identify and validate new drug targets for neglected tropical diseases that affect millions of vulnerable people worldwide.
The Pakistani team, representing the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences at the University of Karachi, included Prof Dr Sammer Yousuf and Dr Saba Farooq from the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry and the Dr Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research.
The international initiative, funded through the Global Challenges Research Fund of the Medical Research Council and led by Durham University in the United Kingdom, brought together leading researchers from Pakistan, the UK, Uruguay, India, Brazil and Argentina.
The Horizon Prize honours collaborative teams whose work advances the frontiers of chemical science and creates new opportunities for research and innovation through transformative discoveries.
Experts say the recognition underscores Pakistan’s growing role in global scientific research and highlights the country’s contributions to drug discovery and international health initiatives.
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The achievement is being celebrated as a proud moment for Pakistan, reinforcing its reputation as an emerging hub for scientific excellence and cross-border research collaboration.
