India's pharmaceutical industry has managed to corner a large share of the market in South Africa and is using the country as a base to gush a flood of cheap generic drugs into Africa.
Abdullah Verachia, analyst at consulting firm Deloitte Frontier Advisory, pointed out that in contrast to other major global pharma companies, India’s big three – Ranbaxy, Cipla and Dr Reddy's – had “carefully cultivated” their local credentials by bringing South Africans into the top positions.
"They've been very strategic in terms of how they've positioned themselves in South Africa and using South Africa as a launch pad into Africa," said Verachia, adding that this reflected their understanding of the market and their commitment to South Africa.
He believes India's pharmaceutical industry has transformed itself over the past three decades from almost non-existent to the second-largest in the world by volume, with revenues of US$3 billion.
Verachia said the thriving pharmaceutical partnerships were part of a larger vision of south-south cooperation that South Africa and India shared.
"We share a very close diplomatic and political relationship in that both countries are advancing the interests of the south. That political relationship has translated into quite a strong commercial one,” he commented.
