Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Limited: The Pharmaceutical Sector in Uganda and Africa

Nevin Bradford, Executive Director and CEO of Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Limited, shares his assessment of the pharmaceutical sector in Uganda and Africa.

“It is a very dynamic industry moving forward, particularly in Africa. The African pharmaceutical manufacturing sector will grow and develop at a pace over the next several years that is significantly faster, deeper, and larger than in the past. The concept of manufacturing high quality, affordable pharmaceuticals in Africa for African patients is being increasingly accepted. In many areas and cases, it is becoming the top priority for healthcare providers, for companies and patients and the healthcare provision community in general. We will see an exponential growth of manufacturing of quality associated with those affordable medicines and pharmaceutical products in Africa in the short, medium, and long term. For example, HIV patients in Africa account for almost 60% of the world’s total HIV patients. Yet, less than 5% of the antiretroviral medicines used to treat those patients are manufactured in Africa. We have upwards of 80% of the malaria cases worldwide in Africa but only 5% of the malaria treatments are manufactured here on the continent. That will change in a dynamic fashion and quite quickly. There is no point in having a very high-quality pharmaceutical product, lifesaving in many cases, that is unaffordable. On the other hand, there is no point in having an affordable product that is not of the highest quality. In many cases, this product includes treatments that will improve the quality of life, extend the quality of life, or save lives. It is this combination of affordability and quality that will drive the growth of the African manufacturing sector in the pharmaceutical industry and become a key driver as we go forward”, says Nevin Bradford.

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