Infusion for Togo: How Sterile Technologies help Africa's Developing Pharma Industry

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However, the dedicated doctor continues to procure the majority of the hospital’s medications from Europe — and this at very high prices. He explains: “There are only a few generic manufacturers here. What’s more, the proportion of counterfeit medications in West Africa is increasing rapidly.”

His vision is to produce pharmaceuticals that are in particularly high demand. This is why he founded Do Pharma SA in 2006. The company is planning to manufacture intravenous solutions for the West African market. Apart from Togo, this includes countries such as Burkina Faso, Benin, Ghana, Mali and Niger. “I have decided to enter an area where no one is operating yet. Currently no intravenous solutions are being manufactured in West Africa,” he says.

A long road and rocky road for the company to travel

Intravenous therapy aids the healing process by providing patients with important drugs and nutrients. All illnesses that entail water loss require infusions. In West Africa, these primarily include diarrhea, malaria, and AIDS. “Per person, roughly one to two liters of infusion per day are necessary,” says Dr Dovi-Akué.

“But in West Africa not even one-fifth of that is available.” However, before starting production, the company has had to travel a long and rocky road. Financing the machines proved to be particularly difficult. Dr Dovi-Akué summarizes: “The interest rates at local banks are around twelve percent; investors aren’t lining up, either.” For several years he negotiated with various potential business partners.

Despite the adverse circumstances, he managed to procure the necessary production equipment. Bottling and sterilization are crucial processes to ensure a maximum degree of product quality for the intravenous solutions. This is why Dr Dovi-Akué considered it mandatory to procure the necessary equipment from manufacturers in industrialized nations. The Bosch subsidiary SBM specializes in the development of high-quality sterilizers, and Dr Dovi-Akué was already familiar with the company from various trade fairs. In addition to its excellent reputation and the high machine quality, personal relationships were the deciding factor in his choice of manufacturer.

“I have a lot of trust in the specialists at SBM,” Dr Dovi-Akué says. Since early 2012, the company has been advising Do Pharma how to achieve its ambitious goals while maintaining a high level of quality at an affordable price. In the same year, the partners confirmed the deal by handshake at the Achema trade fair for the purchase of an SWS sterilizer.

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