President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered government and business to form a joint task force for the pharmaceutical sector. The group will look at the problems facing local medicine makers.
The move follows complaints to Parliament from local drug companies. They said state buying rules favour cheap imported medicines over medicines made in South Africa, Business Day reported.
“South Africa needs a sustainable, agile, resilient and innovative pharmaceutical sector that can support enhanced patient care and security of supply while driving investment, employment, local manufacturing and industrial development,” said Alistair Ruiters, the president’s special adviser for investment promotion.
Ruiters said the presidency saw the sector as important. He said the task force would help government and business talk to each other. The president told the task force to focus on four priority areas.
In August, two industry groups raised the matter with MPs. They were Pharmaceuticals Made in South Africa, known as Pharmisa, and the Black Pharmaceutical Industry Association, known as the BPIA.
They said government policies clash. Some policies aim to support local industry, while others put the lowest price first.
Local manufacturers have often criticised the health department. They say they lost government contracts to firms selling cheaper imports, mostly from India.
Pharmisa told MPs that the value of big tenders won by local firms had dropped steadily over the past ten years. It said this year’s below-inflation rise in private medicine prices added more pressure.
According to Pharmisa, more than 2,500 jobs were lost in the past 18 months. The group represents large local drugmakers such as Aspen Pharmacare, Adcock Ingram, Biovac, Sandoz and Fresenius Kabi.
The BPIA speaks for more than two dozen black-owned firms, including manufacturers, wholesalers and pharmacies. It told Parliament that black-owned companies were held back by a lack of government support.
The health department defended its policies. It told Parliament that Pharmisa’s picture of tender awards was misleading. The department said local firms won a bigger share by volume in some contracts.
Nicholas Crisp, the department’s deputy director-general for National Health Insurance, said government and industry would work together. He said the aim was for patients to get safe, good and affordable medicines made by local companies.
“Government and industry can work together to serve the interests of patients, strengthen the local medicines supply chain and create an environment that supports sustainable investment and growth in the sector,” Crisp said.
Stavros Nicolaou leads the industry team on the task force. He chairs the Pharmaceutical Task Group, which represents four manufacturing associations, including Pharmisa.
Nicolaou said the industry hoped government would bring in buying rules that favour local makers. He said this would strengthen local factories, make supply more secure and help patients get medicines.
Source: this article is based on reporting by Business Day. Image: Business Day. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Business desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Anelisa Nkuna covers business and money news for Tzaneen Voice. Anelisa reports on the rand, fuel prices, interest rates, jobs, Eskom, Transnet, farming and company results. The aim is simple: explain what the numbers mean for household budgets, small businesses and workers in South Africa.