The World Bank and a key multinational economic community believe that Africa has all the ingredients to become a powerhouse in the pharma sector
Sub-Saharan Africa might not be considered the obvious choice as the hub of a new thriving regional pharma-ceutical industry, but the World Bank and a key African multi-national economic community think that it could be.
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has launched a detailed strategy to foster medicine manufacture, and World Bank managing director Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala thinks there is every chance the industry can grow south of the Sahara.
Speaking at a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School conference on African business recently, he said: ‘There is an industry waiting to be built in this sector. Africa could become a pharmaceutical powerhouse creating jobs, growing our economies and protecting our women and children in particular.’
Dr Okonjo-Iweala pointed out that all the ingredients are there and ready for take-off. First, there is a ready local market that is becoming steadily richer and that is poorly served by the international supply of medicines targeted at tropic diseases.
He noted World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 50% of Africans (and Asians) lack access to essential medicines and that from 1975 to 2004 only 1.3% of new chemical entities
registered for pharmaceuticals were meant for use in tropical diseases and tuberculosis, even though they account for 12% of global disease. And while many of these consumers are poor, they and their health providers could afford cheap generics.
Furthermore, said the bank official: ‘As the middle class grows on the continent the market for medicines would continue to grow as well.’
export sales
Of course a vibrant and competitive African pharmaceutical sector could also secure export sales, and Dr Okonjo-Iweala was confident this could be achieved as the region has advantages regarding natural pharmaceutical ingredient supplies and a nascent industry, notably in South Africa and Kenya, that could grow. However, he stressed that this would need Africa to train – and importantly retain – the right scientists to work for African companies.
‘Our scientists are working and innovating in labs across the world. So with the right legislation, leadership from governments, and a supportive scientific environment we can produce more medicines,’ he said.
If they did, then they could draw on Africa’s rich biodiversity in raw materials, particularly important given the growing international interest in natural medicines.
‘Africa could develop a comparative advantage in this sector,’ Dr Okonjo-Iweala said. And given that only ‘about 20% of Africa’s raw material has been subjected to standard scientific evaluation…who knows what miracle cures lie undiscovered in Africa’s forests and rivers?’ he asked.
And as for the industrial base, he cited South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare, which produces more than 70% of the drugs manufactured in Africa. There are also growing industries in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya that produce significant volumes for regional export – these foreign sales have doubled in the past five years. Dr Okonjo-Iweala also noted that Kenya produces Artemisia, which can be a source of pharmaceutical grade artemesinin and artemesinin-based derivatives; these are currently sold to Novartis.
‘This sector if developed could contribute more than 2% of GDP to growth and those who move in early stand to reap significant profits,’ said the World Bank MD.
This potential has not gone unnoticed within Africa. COMESA, a regional body devoted to co-operation and the harmonisation of national legislation and economic policies, staged a workshop on boosting medicine production and supplies in Kampala, Uganda, in March 2011. COMESA includes all east and southern Africa states, except South Africa, but including Egypt and the Sudan.
At the meeting east and southern African government representatives agreed a plan for boosting local pharmaceutical manufacture. It underlined the political commitment by member states to expand local medicine industries, working together and with the private sector to achieve this aim.
practical steps
Importantly, there was a range of practical and detailed steps identified. These included prioritising pharmaceutical manufacturing in national investment policies, with governments actively seeking out inward investment. Another strategy was promoting industries that are complementary to the pharma sector, such as plastics, packaging and commercial road transport.
There was a commitment to help generate a regional market for locally-made medicines through harmonising pharmaceutical registration procedures; mutual recognition of marketing approvals and test data; creating effective post-marketing surveillance; and establishing a network of contact points to co-ordinate the fight against counterfeit medicines.
In the meantime, while the industry grows, COMESA member states said they would work together to bulk purchase medicines internationally, under a pooled procurement system.