From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report. Bucking a global trend that has seen a number of pharmaceutical firms withdrawing their manufacturing capabilities from emerging countries, Sanofi has committed to maintaining its production facilities in these markets, citing a recent 3-million Euro investment to expand the manufacturing capacity for TB and HIV/Aids medicines at its Tshwane-based site. Natalie Greve visited the revamped facility to find out more.
Natalie Greve:
An offshoot of the world’s fourth-largest pharmaceutical group, Sanofi South Africa’s expansion project enabled the local plant to increase its production capacity of life-saving drugs to 350-million tablets and capsules, or 10-million TB packs a year, servicing around one-million South African patients.
The expansion came as the company was awarded 95% of a government tender to provide TB medication to public healthcare institutions, making it the largest government supplier of these drugs, as Sanofi South Africa GM John Fagan explains.
Sanofi South Africa GM John Fagan
Natalie Greve:
The company had also boosted its Aids treatment strategy by signing a partnership agreement with global research-based pharmaceutical company Hetero for the development of an antiretroviral (ARV) product portfolio in 2012. The local facility now manufactured 12-million ARV drug packs a year.
Fagan said the agreement had enabled it to deliver quality ARV products at affordable prices and to increase the manufacturing benefit of these medications in South Africa, as they were locally produced.
John Fagan
Natalie Greve:
Elaborating on the group’s strategy to retain a presence in emerging markets, he added that sales into these regions represented almost a third of the global group’s sales, bringing in revenue of some €11.1-billion a year.
John Fagan
Shannon de Ryhove:
Other news making headlines this week: MTN eyes 3G in Iran while the South African operations fall flat; And, a new solar PV installation will supply up to 45% of voestalpine VAE’s electricity needs.
Telecommunications giant MTN aimed to roll out third-generation (or 3G) technologies across Iran, despite the millions of dollars the mobile operator was unable to unlock from its largest Middle East market.
MTN group president and CEO Sifiso Dabengwa
A 353 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant at turnout systems company voestalpine VAE South Africa’s Isando premises will supply between 40% and 45% of the company’s daily electricity requirements.
voestalpine VAE CEO David Marite
That’s Creamer Media’s Real Economy Report. Join us again next week for more news and insight into South Africa’s real economy.