President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered the establishment of a government-business task force to tackle the challenges facing the pharmaceutical sector, reports Business Day.
It comes in the wake of local pharmaceutical manufacturing companies’ complaints to Parliament that they are being squeezed out by government procurement policies that give greater weight to cheap imports than domestically produced medicines.
The presidency recognised the crucial role of the pharmaceutical sector and would seek to facilitate government-business engagement through the task force, said the president’s special adviser for investment promotion, Alistair Ruiters.
“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,” he said.
The president has instructed the task force to prioritise four areas:
- The regulatory framework governing medicine prices in the private sector;
- Preferential local procurement of pharmaceuticals;
- Regulatory matters that fall under the ambit of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, including measures to improve the ease of doing business and strengthening South Africa’s competitiveness; and
- Improved use of data to support evidence-based policy development and decision-making.
In August, Pharmaceuticals Made in South Africa (Pharmisa) and the Black Pharmaceutical Industry Association (BPIA) reignited a long-running debate about conflicting government policies, which on the one hand seek to support local industry and on the other hand prioritise price.
The Health Department has repeatedly drawn criticism from local pharmaceutical manufacturers that have lost out on government contracts to companies that offer cheaper imports, primarily from India.
The department’s deputy director-general for National Health Insurance, Nicholas Crisp, said government and industry would collaborate to ensure patients had access to quality, safe and affordable medicines manufactured and supplied by South Africa’s pharmaceutical industry.
“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,” he said.
Pharmaceutical Task Group (PTG) chair Stavros Nicolaou, who heads the pharmaceutical industry delegation on the task force, said the industry hoped to see the government implement preferential procurement policies that would strengthen local manufacturing, enhance security of supply and improve patient access to medicines.
The PTG represents four pharmaceutical manufacturing associations: Pharmisa; Generic and Biosimilar Medicines South Africa; the Innovative Pharmaceutical Association South Africa; and the Self-Care Association South Africa.
Business Day – Ramaphosa mandates government-business task force for pharma sector