From Uganda to the World: Magoola Wins Prestigious Global Science Award

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1332 EAT on Wednesday 10 September 2025

“In suburban Toronto last month, the Unifor Local Hall erupted in applause as Ugandan scientist and entrepreneur Dr. Matthias Magoola took the stage to receive a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.”

For Dr. Matthias Magoola, founder of Dei Biopharma Ltd., the honor represented more than personal recognition — it was a rare and powerful moment of international spotlight on Ugandan science. Presented at the 2025 Sankofa Royale Award Gala and Festival by the Canadian and African Women Aid Program (CAWAP), the Lifetime Achievement Award recognized his groundbreaking contributions to pharmaceutical research, innovation, and community development.

In its citation, CAWAP praised Magoola for his “outstanding work and involvement in our diverse society.” Rev. Irine Ashu, the organization’s founder, hailed him as “an inspiration whose achievements embody the spirit of Sankofa — honoring the past while building the future.”

Dr. Magoola is widely recognized in Uganda as the visionary behind the Dei Biopharma industrial campus in Matugga, where he is leading the development of one of Africa’s most ambitious biological drug and vaccine manufacturing facilities.

In a country that has long relied on imported medicines, the project has been hailed as a potential game changer. A professional chemist, Magoola has filed more than 100 patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, covering a wide range of treatments — from cancer, HIV, and malaria to kidney disease and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s.

His groundbreaking work has caught the attention of global biotech circles, including in Silicon Valley, where he was recently named one of the pharmaceutical CEOs to watch in 2025. Among his most notable achievements is the development of a novel anti-malarial drug, independently verified in U.S. laboratories as the most effective compound of its kind discovered to date.

In Uganda, Dr. Matthias Magoola remains a polarizing figure — hailed by supporters as a visionary, yet at times scrutinized for the scale and pace of his pharmaceutical ventures. Still, the recent recognition in Canada highlights how his work is increasingly part of global scientific conversations, at a moment when Africa is asserting greater ownership over its health systems.

The theme of the 2025 Sankofa Royale Award Gala — “The Power of Us: Celebrating the Past. Inspiring the Future” — felt especially fitting for a man whose journey spans from the red earth of Matugga to some of the world’s most advanced research laboratories.

For Uganda, Magoola’s award is more than a symbolic trophy. As The Observer notes, it stands as a powerful reminder that the fight against diseases like malaria, HIV, and cancer could one day have a distinctly African solution.

Invest or Donate towards HICGI New Agency Global Media Establishment – Watch video here