Pharmaceutical industry in Africa

The final two chapters in this part are broader, and both also reflect some West African experiences. Chapter 6 asks an important question What can help to bring more foreign direct investment to the pharmaceutical industry in Africa, with particular reference to Indian... 

This section first discusses the problems of finance and technology in the context of Ghana. It then explores the ways in which a policy of ensuring a larger market for local producers can prompt FDI to assist the development of the pharmaceutical industry in Africa. 

The strong current consensus amongst the international community, that the development of the pharmaceutical sector in Africa is an imperative, was notably underlined by the Joint WHO Bulletin Editorial by Mr Sidibe, Mr Li (Director General of UNIDO) and Dr Chan (Director General of WHO) (Sidibe et al., 2014). The authors strongly supported the development of the industry in Africa through the implementation of the PMPA Business Plan. 

Chaudhuri, S. West, A. (2015) Can local producers compete with low cost imports A simulation study of pharmaceutical industry in low-income Africa, Innovation and Development, Industrial and Corporate Change, 5 (1), 23-38. 

Giuliano Russo is Assistant Professor of Health Economics and Policy at Lisbon s Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical. He has over 15 years of professional experience in the academia, public sector and pharmaceutical industry in Europe, Africa and Latin America. His recent research has focussed on the economics of human resources for health, on health systems and pharmaceutical markets in low-income settings, and on health-aid architecture, with a geographical focus on Portuguesespeaking coimtries. 

The pharmaceutical industry was very pleased with the actions of the ustr, but decided to pursue the matter further. In February 1998, the consortium of 40 drug companies, led by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of South Africa, filed a suit. Its key legal claim was that the statute, the Medicines Amendment Act of 1997, was in violation of South African obligations under trips. It was also claimed that the statute was unconstitutional because it gave sweeping power to South Africa s health minister to override the country s patent laws (Kongolo, 2001). For its part, the South African government promised to defend the Medicines Act, which could not be implemented because of the lawsuit. 

Kongolo, Tshimanga (2001). Public Interest Versus the Pharmaceutical Industry s Monopoly in South Africa. "Journal of World Intellectual Property, 4 609-627. 

In 2000, 48.2% of the world pharmaceutical sales were in the United States, 16.2% in Japan, 23.7% in Europe, 6% in Latin America and 5.9% in Africa, Asia and Australia (Oxfam/Save the Children/VSA Joint Report, 2002). Unlike many industries, the pharmaceutical market is very fragmented. In the developed world, there are at least 390 pharmaceutical manufacturers, and no single pharmaceutical company has more than 8% of the overall market (Matthews, 2001). 

Despite this setback, the pharmaceutical industry was encouraged to prepare literally hundreds of sulfonamides, of which May and Baker 693 (sul-fapyridine) proved to be the most potent and broad spectrum. It also achieved star status once it was revealed that it had been used to save the life of Winston Churchill when he contracted pneumonia during a visit to North Africa in December 1943. Other sulfonamides that have been widely prescribed are sulfadiazine, sulfadimidine (especially for urinary tract infections and meningitis caused by meningococcal infections) and sulfamethoxazole. One problem with many sulfonamides is their relative water insolubility and their tendency to crystallise in the kidney tubules. They are also metabolised via acetylation of the aniline nitrogen, and these metabolites are both inactive and less soluble. 

Thus, pharmaceutical medicine becomes governed by epidemiology. Incidentally, and contrary to the assertions of some journalists and their editors, the pharmaceutical industry has made great and unprofitable efforts to increase such drug supplies to Africa. This is in spite of the fact that epidemics are typically halted by public health measures, not by antibiotics. 

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