Pharmaceutical companies to produce 70% of country’s drug needs

The Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Ghana (PMAG) are seeking to manufacture 70 percent of Ghana’s essential pharmaceutical products within the next three years, daily graphic reports.

The association hopes to cut the level of drugs imported into the country as well as open more job opportunities.

Ghana’s local drug makers account for 30 percent of the country’s essential drug need, with the remaining 70 percent imported.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ernest Chemists Limited, Ernest Bediako Sampong, says his outfit is rolling out initiatives to expand production and also introduce modern technologies to boost productivity.

He made these remarks when he received the board members of the Ghana Export-Import (GEXIM) Bank which was on a tour of some pharmaceutical companies, funded by the bank over the past three years to boost their production.

“We are currently producing 30 percent of the essential drugs needed in the country but our objective is to increase production to 70 percent in two or three years’ time.

“We know how to get there but what we need finance to push us to accomplish it,” he said.

In line with the government’s One District, One Factory (1D1F) policy, the bank has already committed $60 million to support nine pharmaceutical companies.

Last Friday, the board of GEXIM Bank toured some drug manufacturing companies in the Greater Accra Region.

Sampong said GEXIM Bank’s investment into the pharmaceutical industry had helped many of the companies to undertake innovative projects and to acquire appropriate technologies to boost their production.

“We are calling however for funding support to be made sustainable in order to allow us to complete some of our ongoing projects since a lot of pharmaceutical products are going to be manufactured locally.

“We also intend to export and it means that we will earn foreign exchange, employ more people and train them to acquire skills needed to improve the system,” he said.