Weak rand hurts HIV/AIDS medicines leading to ARV shortage
The government spends R14.2bn on antiretrovirals from local pharmaceutical groups, but the weak rand is causing problems as ingredients are imported
SA has a shortage of HIV/AIDS medicines, partly due to a weak rand, a BMI Research SA report released on Thursday said. The government spends R14.2bn on antiretroviral (ARV) drugs from local pharmaceutical groups Cipla Medpro, Aspen Pharmacare, Mylan Pharmaceuticals and Sonke Pharmaceuticals — but the weak rand hurts them because they import their active ingredients. SA has the largest ARV programme in the world with about 7-million people suffering from HIV/AIDS, nearly half of which are covered under the treatment regime. The high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, recorded in 2015, was 19% in females and 14.2% in males, which continues to drive demand for generic ARV medication. BMI’s country-risk team said a combination of structurally high inflation, sluggish economic growth and a continually challenging operating environment will see the rand weakening in 2017. The government plans to produce ARVs locally from 2019 through the recently launched, state-owned pharmaceutical company Ketlaph...
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