‘Be smarter’, DHL tells big pharma
Global pharmaceutical industry companies are urged to adopt smarter strategies to get a share of Africa’s booming market.
|||Cape Town - Global pharmaceutical industry companies have been urged to adopt smarter strategies, and possibly partner with local providers, to get a share of Africa’s booming market.
Representatives from leading pharmaceutical and healthcare companies were gathered in Johannesburg on Thursday to discuss the latest trends, innovations and solutions impacting the life sciences supply chain at the fifth annual DHL Regional Life Sciences & Healthcare conference, with had a specific focus on Africa as a region with high growth potential.
According to Africa: A Continent of Opportunity for Pharma Patients, a report by McKinsey & Company, the value of Africa’s pharmaceutical industry jumped to $20.8 billion in 2013 from just $4.7 billion a decade earlier, and will be worth $40-65 billion by 2020. The report also forecasts between 2013 and 2020 the use of prescription drugs would grow at a compound annual rate of 6 percent in Africa, generics at 9 percent, over-the-counter medicines at 6 percent, and medical devices at 11 percent.
Andrew Mitchell, the president of life sciences and healthcare at DHL, said another reason that companies in the life sciences and healthcare market were increasingly looking for growth in Africa was that growth in various developed markets was stagnating.
Mitchell said that when it came to transporting medicines in Africa many common challenges – such as temperature control, cost efficiency, compliance with trade and other regulations, and innovation for continuous improvement – also provided opportunities for success.
Hennie Heymans, managing director of DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa, said the importance of logistics within the life sciences sector was being magnified by the increasing relevance of pharmaceuticals in emerging markets.
“DHL anticipates pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers will expand their capabilities into major African cities, eventually to emerging cities and even rural areas, and with this, there will be various approaches to distribution and logistics,” he said.
As in other sectors, e-commerce is fundamentally transforming the supply chains for business-to-consumer and over-the-counter life sciences markets, such as cosmetics, vitamins, contact lenses and nutrition, as well as business-to-business markets, such as diagnostics and lab supplies.
Heymans added: “It is believed that life science manufacturers will build up more direct-distribution channels to the end consumer, and will either develop their own e-commerce operations or distribute their products via third-party platforms.”
Heymans believes that changes within the market and decentralised supply chains would lead to new transportation routes. “In certain parts of Africa, supply and distribution chain mechanisms still pose challenges, which range from inadequate or undeveloped infrastructures to a country’s specific regulations.”
He added, for pharmaceutical and medical device manufactures to gain a competitive advantage in Africa, they needed to innovate and adapt to new regulatory standards and the distribution requirements of products.
“Providers wanting to capitalise on the continent’s growth in this market should seek to partner with local providers who are able to successfully implement and manage complex supply chains while navigating the continent’s complex markets and challenges,” he added.
AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY