SA BUSINESS PEOPLE URGED TO INVEST IN THE DRC PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR

SA BUSINESS PEOPLE URGED TO INVEST IN THE DRC PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) requires suppliers of good quality Pharmaceutical products, at a good price. This was said by the Chief Executive Officer and Cardiology Specialist at the Karavia Hospital, Dr Monga Kapema. He was speaking during the site visit conducted by the South African business delegation which is currently in the DRC. The delegation visited the hospital as part of the second leg of the Investment and Trade Initiative (ITI) underway in that country. The ITI is led by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti).

Kapema said there were no manufacturers of Pharmaceutical products in the DRC and therefore the hospital depended entirely on imported medication. According to him, the biggest challenges were those of low quality of medicines being imported into the country, as well as people resorting to purchasing medication in the informal market due to the prohibitively expensive prices of high quality medicines that are manufactured abroad.

“We are looking to have factories that will produce a wide range of medication in the DRC. We would then be able to assess the quality and thereafter prescribe packaging requirements according to the local standards. Locally manufactured medication would be more affordable prices than importing,” said Kapema.

He highlighted that the hospital was also moving in the direction of utilising natural organic and alternative medication to cure minor ailments.

The Export Manager for Akacia Medical, a South African medical and pharmaceutical company based in Cape Town, Mr Ilian Minkov suggested a solution that could assist the hospital would be a partnership with a South African company that could assist in the building of a warehouse in the DRC. He said the joint venture would then be able to import medicines in bulk, pre-package and label them in the local language, store in warehouse from which they could be distributed.

According to Minkov, that process could be partial local manufacturing of the products with a view to establishing a fully-fledge company in the future. He added that this approach could be further extended to other products such as needles, gloves and syringes.

Minkov said it would also assist if the dti could facilitate visits with the Department of Health in South Africa as well as big medical groups to the DRC. The joint visits would enable other South African entities to have first-hand experience of the opportunities in the country and thereafter the creation of appropriate solutions.

“Perhaps some big medical groups like Medi clinic and Netcare could also be interested to invest in the country,” he explained.