South Africa, Swiss company to produce cheaper HIV drugs
11 Feb Xinhua
The South African government on Friday launched a venture with a
Swiss company to manufacture anti- retroviral drugs.
The venture is designed to reduce the cost of drugs used to combat
HIV/AIDS, South African Minister of Science and Technology Naledi Pandor
said. "This joint venture named Ketlaphela will establish the first
pharmaceutical plant to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients
(APIs) for anti-retroviral medicines in South Africa," Pandor said.
This partnership with Swiss company Lonza would create a thriving
biotechnology sector in the country, said the minister. "Ketlaphela will
reduce the country's dependence on imported drugs and will provide
security of supply of priority drugs, stable pricing with less
sensitivity to exchange." Ketlaphela, which means "I will live or
survive" in Sesotho, will attract an investment of 1.6 billion rands
(about 210 million U.S. dollars).
Of the amount, 1.1 billion rands (about 140 million dollars) will
come from the South African government, while 500 million rands (about
65 million dollars) from Lonza. "Ketlaphela will leapfrog South Africa
into the 21st century as far as local pharmaceutical manufacturing is
concerned, It will provide new opportunities for South African
scientists and pharmaceutical companies," Pandor said.
The venture, to be built in Gauteng province, is estimated to create
additional 2,200 jobs in the sector.
"These jobs will include direct and indirect jobs in both the formal
and informal sector of the economy. An estimated 3, 800 jobs will be
created during the construction phase," Pandor said.
Of 22.9 million HIV positive people in sub-Saharan Africa, 5.6
million are South African, according to a recent UNAIDS report.But only
1.6 million HIV positive people in South Africa are on antiretrovirals
(ARVs), the report said. This amounted to only 37 percent of those who
should be on treatment, said Catherine Sozi, coordinator of UNAIDS in
South Africa. "
We need to put another 1.6 million onto treatment by 2015,"she said.
Botswana, Namibia and Rwanda have more than 80 percent of their
eligible HIV-positive populations on ARVs. In Ethiopia, Kenya, Swaziland
and Zambia between 60 percent and 79 percent are on ARVs, according to
the report.
|