Andrew L. Gray, Pharm, MSc (Pharm), FPS, FFIP
Co‐chair of The Lancet Commission on Essential Medicines Policies
Email: Graya1@ukzn.ac.za
Andy Gray B Pharm, MSc (Pharm), FPS, FFIP is a pharmacist whose research interests include policy analysis (in particular, the development and implementation of National Medicines Policies), rational medicines use and the application of antiretroviral therapy in resource‐constrained settings. He is a Senior Lecturer in the Division of Pharmacology, Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu‐Natal, Durban, South Africa. He is also consultant pharmacist (research associate) for the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) and non‐executive Director of JEMBI Health Systems, a not‐for‐profit company focused on developing computer/IT‐based healthcare solutions for the developing world. Mr Gray is a Visiting Fellow in the Faculty of Pharmacy, Rhodes University, Grahamstown. Mr Gray is a Fellow and Honorary Life Member of the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa, a past President of the South African Association of Hospital and Institutional Pharmacists, a past President of the Hospital Pharmacy Section, past Chairman of the Board of Pharmaceutical Practice and currently a Vice‐President and Fellow of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). He was appointed to the South African National Essential Medicines List Committee in 2013 and to the South African Medicines Control Council in 2015.
He has served on the Names and Scheduling Expert Committee of the MCC since 2000 and on its Clinical Trials Committee since 2015. He is a Member of the World Health Organization’s Expert Panel on Drug Policies and Management and has served as a member, rapporteur and co‐chairperson of the Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines, as chairperson of the sub‐committee on Essential Medicines for Children, and on the WHO Guidelines Review Committee.
Widely published, he has served as a reviewer for a number of international and local journals, is associate editor of the South African Pharmaceutical Journal and serves on the international editorial advisory boards of International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, the Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice and the GaBI Journal. He has also been a member of the editorial committee of the South African Health Review. Mr Gray has reviewed funding applications for several agencies, including the Health Systems Trust, National Research Foundation, Medical Research Council and UNITAID.He has been actively involved in the development and assessment of medicines and other health‐related law in South Africa.
Recent publications of interest:
Gray AL, Suleman F. The relevance of systematic reviews on pharmaceutical policy to low‐ and middle‐income countries. Int J Clin Pharm. 2015 Jul 17. Ahead of print
Naidoo A, Naidoo K, Yende‐Zuma N, Gengiah TN, Padayatchi N, Gray AL, Bamber S, Nair G, Karim SS. Changes to antiretroviral drug regimens during integrated TB‐HIV treatment: results of the SAPiT trial. Antivir Ther. 2014;19(2):161‐9.
Abdool Karim SS, Naidoo K, Grobler A, Padayatchi N, Baxter C, Gray AL, Gengiah T, Gengiah S, Naidoo A, Jithoo N, Nair G, El‐Sadr WM, Friedland G, Abdool Karim Q. Integration of antiretroviral therapy with tuberculosis treatment. N Engl J Med. 2011 Oct 20;365(16):1492‐501.