Speaker Profile

BIOGRAPHY

Dr Pi-cretsh Bakenga is a medical doctor from the Democratic Republic of Congo with more than eight years of experience in medical and clinical research. Since 2020, he has been serving as a senior researcher at the National Pharmacovigilance Centre, a technical department of the Congolese National Regulatory Authority (ANR), within the Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacovigilance Unit.
Over the course of his career, Dr Bakenga has contributed to several high-impact research projects, including the development of MAB114, a monoclonal antibody against the Ebola virus; a clinical trial on the immunogenicity of a COVID-19 vaccine; the development of fexinidazole, the first oral treatment for human African trypanosomiasis; and a clinical trial assessing the non-inferiority of cipargamin compared to artesunate for the treatment of severe malaria.
He also served as a Qualified Person for Pharmacovigilance within the National Tuberculosis Control Programme, where he supported the introduction of the short all-oral BePaL regimen for the treatment of rifampicin- and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (RR/MDR-TB).
In his current position, Dr Bakenga focuses on routine pharmacovigilance activities, particularly the assessment of causal relationships between adverse events and medicines or vaccines.
He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in vaccinology and drug development at the University of Siena, Italy. Deeply passionate about regulatory affairs, he views them as a vital bridge between pharmaceutical companies and the public, ensuring the safety, efficacy, effectiveness, and quality of medical products and strengthening public trust in healthcare systems.