Dec. 1, 2006

Cuban healthcare products and devices find SA outlet

South African company Ikhambi Health has signed six agreements with Cuban biosciences companies for the local marketing and distribution of Cuban healthcare products.

The agreements will result in the establishment of joint ventures between Ikhambi and the Cuban manufacturers and intellectual property holders of pharmaceuticals, veterinary products, and medical technology and devices.

Besides South Africa, the company will also market and distribute these products in the rest of the African continent.

Ikhambi Health Group CEO Sipho Moshoane tells Engineering News that the agreements include advanced pharmaceuticals, such as for oncology, diabetes, cholesterol, antibiotics, as well as a range of products based on natural ingredients, such as beeswax and sugarcane wax. Concerning veterinary products, the agreements focus on three areas – products for the extermination of rats and mice, a biodegradable insecticide for preventing the breeding of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, and the supply of veterinary antibiotics.

Depending on the complexity of the products’ composition, they will either be imported from Cuba and packaged and labelled at Ikhambi’s manufacturing facility in Midrand, Gauteng, or produced locally from imported active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Concerning medical technology and devices, the company will import general medical equipment, such as blood-pressure monitors and electrocardiogram machines, and specialist equipment for use in neurology, physiotherapy and audiology.

However, the peripherals that will complete the installation of the devices will be sourced locally.

Ikhambi has entered into a joint-venture agreement with a local IT company to install and maintain the devices in hospitals and other healthcare centres.

Moshoane says that the Cuban pharmaceuticals and medical equipment that the company will market and distribute are advanced pro-ducts that have been approved for use in Western Europe, Asia and South America.

“The Cuban products that we will sell have met, and even exceeded, the standards set in these regions.

“They are not substandard products that are being dumped on the developing world,” he points out. The joint-venture agreements between Ikhambi and the six Cuban biosciences companies also entail advancing the research and development (R&D) of the involved pharmaceuticals, veterinary products, and medical technology and devices to improve their use and adaptability to African conditions.

One of the Cuban companies, Neuronic, has donated audiology equipment to the University of Limpopo. The university will provide feed-back to the company on how the equipment can be adapted for African conditions.

The African market will also benefit from advances made in similar joint ventures elsewhere in the world.

For instance, in October, Neuronic also entered into a joint-venture agreement with China, which is expected to miniaturize some of the devices.

“We have access to all the enhancements that will be made to the products.

“Hence, we will contribute to, and benefit from, continuous R&D,” Moshoane says.

A boost to bilateral trade The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has hailed the deals signed by Ikhambi for increasing bilateral trade ties between South Africa and Cuba.

Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Dr Rob Davies says the benefits derived from these will also prove to be of great value to other regions on the continent. At the beginning of November, Davies led a delegation of South African business leaders to the Havana International Trade Fair, in Cuba, where Ikhambi signed the deals with the Cuban biosciences companies.

“Cuba is a world leader in bio-technology and pharmaceutical products. “It is very pleasing that dynamic South African companies such as Ikhambi have recognized this and have entered into agreements that will enable South African consumers to benefit from this technology,” Davies said.

Cuba recently signed a trade deal at government-to-government level with China. “Our deal is, similarly, the commercialization and fulfillment of similar bilateral agreements between the Cuban and South African governments,” Moshoane says.

Embassy of Cuba Economic and Trade Counselor Ruben Ramos noted that Cuba’s biotechnology sector has achieved numerous successes.

The country has registered more than 35 products of proven effectiveness and quality, which are being sold in more than 45 countries.

“Ikhambi’s approach to the Cuban biotechnology sector will be of mutual interest, not only in terms of the trade relationships between the two countries, but also in improving the quality of life of the people,” Ramos added.

Moshoane started Ikhambi health as Black-owned company early in 2005. A metallurgist by profession, Moshoane has been involved in the pharmaceutical industry for nearly a decade, with roles including commercial, business development, sales, marketing and corporate affairs. In March this year, the Department of Trade and Industry nominated Ikhambi Health to be the South African representative in a United Nations Industrial Development Organization project that seeks to enhance Africa’s technical skills in pharmaceutical production and the provision of healthcare products.