- Africa spends more than $14 billion a year importing medicines and vaccines.
- The first international conference, organized by the recently launched African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation, is seen as a turning point in the continent’s quest for a strong and self-sustaining pharmaceutical industry.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, March 26, 2024, /African Media Agency/-A hundred leaders from the African continent and other regions, including the United States and Europe, are gathered today and tomorrow in Addis- Abeba, for a conference focused on solving key challenges in innovation and technology transfer to strengthen the pharmaceutical sector in Africa.
Themes covered range from regional security of supply, to technology gaps in private sector development and public sector research and development, to the quest for a fair balance between intellectual property rights and access. during and after pandemics. Panelists also examine new financing models to boost investment in the sector.
“This conference is the first of its kind in Africa to examine the barriers to domestic manufacturing and production of essential health products for the continent,” said Padmashree Gehl Sampath, the executive director of the new African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation. (APTF).
Outlining the APTF’s vision, Gehl Sampath said the agency wanted “a vibrant African pharmaceutical industry capable of manufacturing and innovating pharmaceuticals in Africa, for the African people.”
She added that the foundation aspired to “grow from 400 companies to at least 800 pharmaceutical companies in the region by 2040.”
The proceedings of the seven sessions, taking place today and tomorrow, are opened with keynote speeches by Mekdas Daba Feyssa, Ethiopian Minister of Health, Monique Nsanzabaganwe, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, Director deputy general of Africa CDC, Edward Kwakwa, assistant director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization, Michel Sidibé, special envoy of the African Union to the African Medicines Agency, and Oyebanji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, advisor Special Special from the President of the African Development Bank.
The first day began with the broadcast of video recordings of welcome addresses by the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina(link is external), lending their support to the discussions.
“Access to health products is an essential component of universal health coverage and health security,” underlined Dr. Tedros of the WHO. Thank you for your commitment to a stronger pharmaceutical sector on the continent.”
“Multiple stars are aligning in the global landscape for the continent to attract domestic and international investments to build value chains and a strong manufacturing base in this sector,” said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Companies should try to get a head start… establish partnerships and work on voluntary licenses… [qui] are accompanied by a real transfer of technology. The APTF has an important role to play in all of this.”
Africa imports more than 70% of its health needs, representing an annual cost of nearly $14 billion. The continent conducts just 2% of global research into new infections, despite bearing a quarter of the global disease burden. To reverse this trend, Africa will need, among other necessary measures, to overcome barriers to access to technology in the continent’s public and private sectors.
Organizations at the conference include the Science Foundation for Africa, Medicines Patent Pool, National Vaccine Institute of Ghana, African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative, African Vaccine Manufacturing Partnerships, Medicines for Neglected Diseases initiative, the African Center of Excellence for Infectious Disease Genomics, the Uganda Virus Research Institute, the Regionalized Vaccine Manufacturing Collaborative, the African Continental Free Trade Area, Unitaid and the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations.
Senior executives from African pharmaceutical, biotechnology and vaccine companies, as well as world-renowned academics, are also participating in the conference.
“Africa must change its technological environment […] and build a pharmaceutical and biomedical research and development ecosystem capable of supporting world-class local pharmaceutical industries,” called Akinwumi Adesina.
“We were convinced that this could only be done with a dedicated institution, working to promote change and facilitate access to technology. This is why the African Development Bank created the APTF with the support of the African Union,” he explained.
Established in 2022 as an independent regional agency, the APTF works to improve Africa’s access to technologies needed for the discovery, development and manufacturing of drugs, vaccines and diagnostics.
The Foundation helps African companies engage in technology transactions, commercialize intellectual property and diversify product portfolios, research institutes become centers of excellence and governments shape healthy product markets, among other initiatives.
Devex, a media platform for the global development community, recently named the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation as one of 24 agencies to watch globally in 2024.
“The APTF will be a game changer,” said Oyebanji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, Senior Special Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank. Its goal is to change the way international businesses build relationships and partnerships with African businesses. The Foundation will facilitate entry into the region and remove structural, regulatory and institutional barriers to accelerate collaborative domestic production projects. »
The international conference on innovation, intellectual property and technology transfer in the pharmaceutical sector in Africa is supported by the German Ministry of Cooperation and Development. The full program and list of speakers are available at this link.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) for the African Development Bank.
Source : African Media Agency (AMA)
2024-03-26 11:15:53
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