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Two suppliers awarded the current antiretroviral (ARV) tender—Avacare Health subsidiaries Barrs Pharmaceuticals Industries and Innovata Pharmaceuticals—have recently entered business rescue, raising concerns about potential disruptions to South Africa’s ARV supply chain.
The national ARV tender covers a three-year period and is valued at an estimated R15.5 billion. The largest share of the contract relates to the tenofovir/lamivudine/dolutegravir (TLD) regimen, which alone accounts for approximately R12.6 billion of the total tender value.
Cipla has acknowledged the uncertainty arising from the business rescue proceedings and has reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding the stability and continuity of ARV supply. The company has indicated its readiness to support government efforts to mitigate any risks to patient access. “Cipla confirms its willingness to support national requirements under the current tender agreement and, if necessary, to participate meaningfully in any supplementary procurement processes to ensure uninterrupted access to essential treatment,” said Paul Miller, CEO of Cipla Africa.
Cipla has manufactured TLD for the South African government for the past seven years and views the current tender as an opportunity to further strengthen local pharmaceutical manufacturing. “We believe this tender provides a platform to advance the government’s commitment to expanding local manufacturing capacity,” Miller said. “Greater support for locally produced medicines in future allocations could make a meaningful contribution to South Africa’s industrial development objectives while ensuring continuity of supply.”
Miller added that the company has already mobilised additional resources to help maintain equitable access to affordable, critical medicines. Cipla has invested significantly in its local manufacturing facility, including upgrades to its ARV production lines, the installation of a new Countec bottle line, and a 190% increase in tablet-filling capacity.
As a result of these investments, Cipla now has the capacity to manufacture approximately 475 million tablets locally each year. The company has also scaled up its operations to ensure sufficient capacity to meet current demand and support near-term growth.
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According to Statistics South Africa, an estimated eight million people—approximately 12.7% of the population—are living with HIV. For these individuals, uninterrupted access to life-saving antiretroviral therapy is essential. Any disruption to supply places patients at risk of treatment interruption, increased drug resistance, and poorer health outcomes, underscoring the critical importance of a stable and reliable ARV supply chain.
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