Tagged with Africa

Global The global rush to secure access to COVID-19 vaccines has led to accusations that richer countries are hoarding supply at the expense of poorer nations. While some are calling for a relaxation of intellectual property (IP) to allow less-developed nations to vaccinate their populations, Big Pharma is resistant, arguing that…

South Africa South African firm Aspen has inked a deal with Johnson & Johnson for the technical transfer and proposed commercial manufacture of their COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Ad26.COV2-S, boosting the company’s share price as well as its global profile.   Aspen is best known internationally for bringing generic antiretrovirals for HIV to…

Roundup A roundup of the latest from the Middle East & Africa region, including Turkey’s debt to US pharma; deals between Saudi SPIMACO and Janssen, Abu Dhabi Mubadala and Germany’s Evotec, and Turkey’s Abdi Ibrahim and Swiss OM Pharma; and whether poorer countries in Africa can truly expect equal access to…

Vaccines While outbreaks of the devastating Ebola virus have – thankfully – generally been highly localized to West Africa, the highly infectious and lethal disease has generated global trepidation due to its characteristic haemorrhagic fever, a 50 percent chance of death on average, and the absence of any approved treatment. The…

Roundup A roundup of the latest news from pharma in the Middle East and Africa including China’s announcement that it will be prioritising Africa for access to its COVID-19 vaccine, UAE firm Mubadala’s latest US investment, Saudi Arabia’s continuing digitalisation push, and Algeria’s plan to export USD five billion in domestically…

Opinion As COVID-19 threatens to derail more than a decade’s worth of hard-won gains in the fight against malaria, Dr Benjamin Pretorius, managing director at ERADA Technology Alliance, warns that diversions of malaria resources and interruptions to prevention programmes may cost thousands of lives.   Malaria still takes the lives of…

Covid-19 The South African affiliate of Indian pharma firm Cipla will begin manufacturing and distribution of remdesivir, a Covid-19 drug, in South Africa this month. The company’s priority is ensuring access to vulnerable populations in emerging markets.     Cipla South Africa has been granted a license to manufacture and distribute remdesivir,…

South Africa Below is a roundup of latest news from South Africa’s life sciences and healthcare industries, including a call to overhaul patent laws to allow better access to COVID-19 drugs, innovation for HIV and TB medication adherence, COVID-19 vaccine trials, gut microbiome testing and supply chain lessons from the pandemic.  …

Morocco Some of the more entrepreneurial Moroccan local laboratories have spotted an opening to leverage their knowledge of Sub Saharan African markets and to act as a conduit and partner for MNCs seeking to break into that region and penetrate those jurisdictions.   The African continent’s potential as a growth market…

UAE Sub-Saharan Africa might not be considered among the top destinations for the global pharmaceutical industry, but Shalina Healthcare considers it home and has established itself as the leading pharma company in the region. Co-CEOs and siblings, Shalina Clifford and Abbas Virji, walk us through the company’s 35-year history of commitment…

Morocco Dr Driss Chaoui, CEO of Afric-Phar, one of the leading domestic companies in Moroccan pharma, provides insight into the major developments that have taken place at the company since we last interviewed him in 2015. These include the opening of an R&D laboratory, new partnerships established with MNCs to distribute…

Morocco Karim Lahlou of Moroccan pharma manufacturer Iberma discusses the firm’s evolution in recent years, the abundant opportunities for Iberma in the African market, and why strong international partnerships will help the company thrive in the future.   While we continue developing new business ideas, we are capitalizing on our stable…