Royal Society of Chemistry honors Pakistani Scientists’ Collaborative Network with Horizon Prize

KARACHI, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Jun, 2026) The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has awarded its prestigious Chemistry Biology Interface Horizon Prize 2026 to the Global Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Network, an international consortium of researchers from seven countries.

The Pakistani team of the network was led by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, Coordinator General of OIC-COMSTECH.

The award recognizes the consortium’s groundbreaking work on the “Development of new tools for the identification, and chemical and genetic validation, of multiple new drug targets for leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.

The achievement represents a significant milestone for Pakistani science and highlights the country’s contribution to cutting-edge global health research.

The team from the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, includes Prof. Dr. Sammer Yousuf and Dr. Saba Farooq, representing the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry and the Dr.

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Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, respectively.

The international project, funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) through the Medical Research Council (MRC), UK, and led by Durham University, United Kingdom, brings together leading scientists from the UK, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Pakistan.

The consortium is working to develop innovative solutions against protozoan neglected tropical diseases that affect millions of people, particularly in vulnerable and underserved communities worldwide.

The Chemistry Biology Interface Horizon Prize, awarded by the Royal Society of Chemistry, recognizes outstanding teams and collaborations whose discoveries push the boundaries of chemical science.

The prize celebrates pioneering research and innovation that open new directions and possibilities through transformative scientific advances.