BITC unlocks pharmaceutical industry

Government investment facilitation arm, Botswana Investment Trade Centre (BITC) is adamant that the local pharmaceutical sector’s potential if fully tapped could become one of the big markets in the SADC region; allowing Botswana to also export products into the region. BITC on Tuesday hosted the pharmaceutical sector study dissemination dialogue to share findings of a study under which BITC partnered with the European Union’s Africa RISE (Reform forInvestment and Sustainable Economies) program to develop a study on the pharmaceutical sector for Botswana. 

The goal of the study was to assist Botswana to develop its pharmaceutical sector to manufacture medicines while remaining competitive at local and regional levels. 

BITC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Keletsositse Olebile said even though Botswana’s drug manufacturing scene is very limited, data by Fitch Solutions shows that pharmaceutical imports grew by 14 percent year-on-year in local currency terms to a value of P2.2 billion in 2023. 

Olebile said over 68 percent of imports originate from South Africa and India respectively. He explained that the growth of pharmaceutical sector is largely driven by health care spending, and in 2023, healthcare spending was 5.8 percent as a percentage of the GDP with a total spend of US$1.3 billion. 

“Botswana has the proven capability to host sophisticated industries, and the existence of a world class research centre, the Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership (BHP) – which is a leading HIV/AIDS research, training and capacity building institution in Botswana is a case in point,” said Olebile. 

He added that areas of research include clinical and basic science, epidemiology, socio-behavioural science and community-based bio-clinical research relevant to the AIDS epidemic and emerging public health challenges in Botswana, Sub-Saharan Africa and globally. 

He said countries that have successfully established their pharmaceutical industry are supported by the extensive applications of patents, trademark secrets, and copyrights. 

According to Olebile, patents are pivotal as they provide exclusive rights for new medicines, fostering incentives for pharmaceutical companies to invest in novel treatments. 

Trademark secrets on the other hand, maintain the unique identity of a pharmaceutical firm and its products, while copyrights protect original written works like research findings and promotional materials. It is therefore important to collaborate through institutions like CIPA and develop targeted programmes to nurture the growth of traditional medicines, and benefit from the rich biodiversity. 

Meanwhile, while presenting findings of the study, Director of Research at BITC Moemedi Mokgosi said according to Fitch Solutions report, in 2021 medicaments constituted 79.1% of pharmaceutical imports, valued at US$ 145 million vaccines at US$ 38million (20.9%) 

He also on the vaccine imports, human vaccine imports were valued at US$ 28 million (75.3%);veterinary vaccine US$ 9 million (24.7%) 

He said the estimated size in 2022was USD$ 193 million, adding that estimated forecast of market value is USD$205 million in 2025. 

In addition, Mokgosi said Botswana has an opportunity to exploit her comparative advantage of being a landlocked country and strategically export to the rest of the SADC region and the African continent at large.