South Africa's pharmaceutical market booms
According to a recent report, it is expected to double within six years
The South African pharmaceutical market is expected to almost double in the next six years due to profitable government contracts for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis medications, according to the latest report from market analysts GBI Research.
The new report* predicts that the South African pharmaceutical industry will grow from a value of US$3.8 billion in 2011 to $7 billion in 2018, climbing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.2 percent.
Though it was once dismissed as low-profit, the country’s pharmaceutical industry is now regarded as having great potential and is attracting the attention of some of the sector’s big players.
To tackle South Africa’s crippling problem with HIV/AIDS and TB, the government is awarding tenders that promise steady returns for two to three years to companies offering appropriate treatments.
The African nation has the highest proportion of people with HIV/AIDS in the world. According to figures from 2010, over five million residents have the virus and around 40 percent of deaths in that year were related to HIV/AIDS.
To aid the fight against the epidemic, the government receives international support from organisations such as the Global Fund, the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the EU.
The national government is also in the process of introducing a new regulatory body with the goal of speeding up the drug registration process.
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) will replace the current healthcare body, the Medicines Control Council (MCC), in a transition that is hoped to be complete within the year.
The new organisation will have a greater range of responsibilities, including the approval and licensing of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, as well as carrying out evaluations for safety and efficacy.
The Southern African Clinicians Society previously condemned the MCC as the single biggest barrier to the providing of Fixed Dose Combinations (FDCs) for the treatment of HIV/AIDS due to lengthy delays in the registration process that has left the country unable to introduce some cheaper generic medications.
African Business Review
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