Generic drug market continues to grow, localized production is in the ascendant

From the 2015 China-Africa “Ten Major Cooperation Plans” to the announcement of the “Eight Major Actions” announced by the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2018, medical and health care has become a key area of ​​China-Africa cooperation
.
In November 2021, the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation adopted the "Vision for China-Africa Cooperation 2035", and proposed that China will work closely with African countries to jointly implement the "Nine Projects" and promote the construction of a high-level China-Africa destiny.
community
.
Among them, sanitation and health projects ranked first among the "nine projects"
.
Medical and health cooperation has become the top priority of China-Africa cooperation
.
There are many developing countries in Africa, the industrialization and urbanization started late, the demographic dividend is huge, and the development potential of its pharmaceutical market is huge
.
Markets vary from country to country Africa is generally divided into North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa
.
Among them, North Africa is dominated by Arabs, and the main countries are Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, etc.
; Sub-Saharan Africa is further divided into Central Africa, West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa
.
Divided by official languages, sub-Saharan Africa is mainly divided into English-speaking, French and Portuguese-speaking areas; the French-speaking areas are mainly concentrated in Central and West Africa, and the English-speaking areas are mainly in Southeast Africa
.
The economic development level and drug market access of sub-Saharan African countries have their own characteristics
.
For example, the French-speaking market is dominated by public bidding markets.
Distributors and wholesalers are designated by the government.
The distribution of medicines is mainly by UBI PHARMA, EPDIS, Planet Pharma, and Tridem Pharma (acquired by Fosun Pharma in 2017) After several French distributors control it, the price markup is also fixed
.
Therefore, the French-speaking pharmaceutical market is relatively regulated and closed
.
While English-speaking countries, such as Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania are mainly public bidding markets, Nigeria and Kenya are mainly private markets.

.
Taking Nigeria as an example, its population, economic aggregate, and oil and gas export volume all rank first among African countries, and its private pharmaceutical market share accounts for about 70% of the overall pharmaceutical market.
intense
.
Over the years, Nigeria has always been the largest market for China's export of preparations to Africa, and the export value has exceeded 100 million US dollars in recent years
.
Generic drug market has a lot of room for growth According to public information, the African pharmaceutical market currently accounts for about 3% of the global pharmaceutical market, with a total volume of about 40 billion US dollars
.
Although the overall size of the African pharmaceutical market is small, it is growing rapidly
.
In the past few years, the average growth rate of the global pharmaceutical market has been about 5.
8%, while the growth rate of the African pharmaceutical market has exceeded 10%
.
According to reports, the market size of the African pharmaceutical industry will increase from US$19 billion in 2012 to US$66 billion in 2022, making it the fastest growing market in the global pharmaceutical industry
.
With the rapid increase of its population, urbanization and industrialization, the future African pharmaceutical market will become a huge incremental market
.
At present, the level of drug consumption in Africa is still in its infancy, and the market demand is dominated by low-end generic drugs
.
Antibiotics, antiviral, antipyretic and analgesic, antimalarial, tuberculosis treatment, AIDS prevention and control and other drugs are in great demand
.
The dosage form is mainly based on tablets.
For example, in Ethiopia, tablet sales account for nearly 85% of its total pharmaceutical sales
.
In addition, African governments are eager to control the total cost of public medical care and support the use of generic drugs
.
It is foreseeable that the rapid growth of the African generic drug market, especially the low-end generic drug market, will continue in the future
.
Most clinical drugs rely on imports According to statistics, there are about 400 drug manufacturers in sub-Saharan Africa, mainly located in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia and other countries, of which the number of API manufacturers is very small.

.
From the perspective of the development level of the pharmaceutical industry in African countries, the basic industries in North Africa and South Africa are relatively developed and have certain pharmaceutical production capacity, while the pharmaceutical industry in East and West Africa is still in its infancy
.
Most of the pharmaceutical factories in Africa are small and do not operate in line with international standards
.
Therefore, the vast majority of pharmaceutical products in the African market depend on imports.
Imported medicines (including prescription and over-the-counter medicines) account for 70% to 90% of drug consumption.
Some countries rely almost entirely on imports to meet demand
.
In addition, international organizations such as the International Society of the Red Cross, Gates Foundation, and UNICEF provide free medicines to difficult areas in Africa through funds.
The free medicines are mainly aimed at the prevention and treatment of AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases
.
For example, 70% of African antimalarial drugs come from the financial support of international organizations and institutions
.
Therefore, international institutional funds have an important market position
.
At present, international organizations purchase medicines with reference to the WHO's annual publication of recommended medicines for various diseases and the procurement catalogue of recommended suppliers
.
Vigorously encourage localized production of medicines "Localized production" is a topic of general concern in African countries at this stage
.
It is difficult to meet the growing demand for medicines in Africa by relying on imports, and only localized production can bring employment, tax revenue and technology transfer
.
The new crown pneumonia epidemic has also made African countries pay more attention to the pharmaceutical industry
.
Therefore, many African countries have recently introduced preferential policies on the landing of pharmaceutical investment, involving taxation, land and other aspects
.
Ethiopia has also specially built a new pharmaceutical industrial park to attract more pharmaceutical companies to invest and start their businesses
.
To protect local production, African countries have made efforts to raise the threshold for importing medicines
.
For example, the Nigerian Food and Drug Administration stipulates that when the imported drug is registered, it is necessary to provide a plan for localized production in the local area after 5 years, otherwise it will not be registered
.
At the same time, many countries have issued import prohibition lists for preparations that can be produced by local companies, which do not allow the same imported drugs to be registered.

.
For example, the import ban introduced by Sudan involves more than 20 locally produced medicines, and this number will continue to increase
.
Government centralized procurement in African countries will also favor local pharmaceutical companies
.
For the products that can be produced by local manufacturers, centralized procurement is carried out in local manufacturers first; for international centralized procurement, local products can enjoy a premium for participating in centralized procurement.
For example, local products in Ethiopia have a 20% premium, and Kenya has a 15% premium
.
Various means are aimed at promoting the localized production of medicines
.
In addition, the medical supervision system in Africa is similar to that in Europe, with high regulatory requirements and flexible practical operation.
Many African countries also adopt the supervision model of separation of medicines
.
The African pharmaceutical market has its own unique characteristics.
If Chinese pharmaceutical companies want to enter Africa, they need to improve their cognition of the pharmaceutical market structure.
Only by adapting to local conditions can achieve more with less
.