Players in the pharmaceutical industry are considering the establishment of an enclave to provide a one-stop avenue for the manufacturing and processing of pharmaceutical drugs in Ghana.
To be known as the Pharma-Industry Park, the initiative is intended to address various obstacles drug manufacturers encounter in their business.
The Chairman of the Executive Council of the Chamber of Pharmacy Ghana, Mr Harrison Abutiate made this known when he paid a courtesy call on Ghana’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, H.E Amma Twum-Amoah at her office in Addis Ababa.
Mr Abutiate said he was in the East African nation to under-study a similar project by the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical industry.
According to him, the scattered nature of state regulatory agencies coupled with bureaucracy has created drawbacks for business people within the pharmaceutical sector, hence the decision by the Chamber to go the Ethiopian way.
He said the Chamber has secured a large stretch of land within the Appolonia City on the Dodowa Road in the Greater Accra Region for the construction of the multipurpose, state-of-the art Park.
Upon completion, the facility will ensure easy and speedy processes including business registration, manufacturing, branding, marketing and packaging to facilitate the production of essential drugs.
When packaging materials, labels, importations, storage and marketing are standardized, the cost of production is reduced and the burden on both the manufacturer and the patient buying the drugs is lessoned, he told Journalists.
A former President of the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG), Mr. Abutiate said a tour of the Ethiopian project and subsequent discussions with Ethiopian Pharmacists and medicine producers showed that greater efficiency and speed is guaranteed in facilities like the proposed industrial park.
Ghana is said to have some 38 drug manufacturing companies, locally based and are responsible for the production of 30 percent of the country’s pharmaceutical needs.
“In terms of quality of products, drugs or medicines from Ghana are among the best on the continent and we are currently seeking special bank facilities to enable the competitiveness. We may even export knowledge and expertise to other places on the continent”, Mr Abutiate said.
Additionally, Ghana produces 300 Pharmacists every year.
Ambassador Amma Twum-Amoah commended the role of the pharmacists and medicine producers and importers in safeguarding the country’s healthcare system and pledged the continuous support of government to support initiatives of the Chamber.
