Pharma Development, a French pharmaceutical company specialized in the manufacture and packaging of liquid and pasty forms, has recently announced its plans to establish a USD 15 million pharmaceutical plant in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka.
The announcement was done by Pharma Development’s President Mario Giron on a media briefing in Lusaka on September 3rd, 2015 when he also explained that the company would start commercializing its products since the plant’s set up stage.
The range of products to be introduced in the African market goes from the so called “wellbeing line”, food supplements and diet products, to anti-retrovirus and anti-malaria drugs, explained President Giron.
The company has qualified Zambia as a strategic market for introducing its products in the Southern and Eastern African regions, as part of its international expansionary program, he added.
Pharma Development’s new plant in Lusaka would be the third one after those currently operating in Guatemala and France.
The new plant is part of the company’s growth and expansion plan with sales that reached EUR 5.3 million in 2012, according to the company’s website.
According to the World Health Organization, the Zambian total expenditure on health represents 5.0% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with USD 811 million in 2013, which is less than Sub Saharan Region and world averages of 5.7% and 9.9%.
From that total, pharmaceuticals represent an expenditure of USD 24.40 million or 0.15% of the Zambian GDP, a number that would be improved in alliance with the Government to provide affordable and quality drugs.
