South Africa-incorporated pharmaceutical company Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd continues to scale up medical distribution deals with international drug manufacturers as it seeks to increase its share of the healthcare distribution market in South Africa and rest of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Aspen has, through its subsidiary, Mauritius-incorporated Aspen Global Incorporated, confirmed on 01 November 2023 the closure of a deal to acquire Viatris Inc, assuming "the commercialisation rights and related intellectual property for a portfolio of well-known branded products in Latin America." (1)

The deal, which was first announced to shareholders in August 2023, puts Viatris Inc's brand names Lipitor, Viagra, Lyrica, Zoloft, Norvasc, and Celebrex under Aspen's increasing portfolio.

Earlier, in August 2023, Aspen, through its subsidiaries Aspen Pharmacare and Beta Healthcare, signed a distribution and promotion agreement with Indiana-based US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company's subsidiary, US firm Eli Lilly Export S.A., to boost presence of the American company's products in South Africa and the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Aspen said the agreement will give it opportunity to "distribute and promote Lilly's products in Sub-Saharan Africa for an initial term of 10 years, automatically renewable for two further periods of five years." (2)

Aspen says sales revenues from of the Lilly portfolio in Sub-Saharan Africa was approximately ZAR440 million (US$24 million) in 2022 and "this is expected to be materially increased by the launch of key Lilly pipeline products in the short to medium term."

Some of the pharmaceutical products Lilly is expected to sale in Africa include Tirzepatide, which is currently marketed globally as Mounjaro. This is an antidiabetic medication used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and is administered through subcutaneous injection.

Mounjaro, adds the European Medicines Agency "can be used on its own in patients who cannot take metformin or as an 'add-on' to other diabetes medicines." (3)

According to Aspen, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), a government agency under the Department of Health that regulates healthcare in South Africa, is currently evaluating Mounjaro for possible launch in the country's market soon.

The company said the agreement with Lilly "is conditional upon the fulfilment of customary conditions precedent applicable to transactions of this nature, including competition authority approvals."

The Aspen distribution deal with Lilly is likely to be completed at the end of Q1, 2024.

Completion of the distribution deal between the two pharmaceutical companies will give opportunity for healthcare facilities and patients in several Africa countries to access adequate, quality and timely medication for the treatment of bone muscle joint, cancer, cardiovascular, diabetes, endocrine, immunology, neurodegeneration, neuroscience and pain.

Aspen expects to hold the rights to sell, promote and distribute some of these products in several African markets.

The agreement comes at a time when Lilly, which announced a 37% increase in revenues in the third quarter of 2023, is pursuing its 30x30 agenda, which has an objective of improving accessibility to quality healthcare for 30 million people in "limited resource settings, annually, by 2030."

Previously in May 2023, Aspen confirmed concluding a deal for the exclusive marketing, distribution, use and selling of products manufactured by California-based American multinational biopharmaceutical company, Amgen, in South Africa for an initial renewable five-year term. (4)

Amgen, which announced a 5% growth in product sales in the third quarter of 2023 on the back of an 11% growth in volumes, will continue manufacturing and supplying Aranesp, Amgevita, Prolia, Repatha, NPlate, Vectibix and Blincyto to Aspen for the period the agreement will be in force.

According to Aspen, "Amgen focuses on areas of high unmet medical need and has a robust pipeline including biosimilars that will be registered and/or submitted for registration in the near future."

Distribution agreements among Africa-based and international pharmaceutical firms could improve the access to critical medicines as the continent, with a pharmaceutical market value of US$25, continues to reply on generics to meet demand. The continent's generic products market is expanding at 3.5% annually. (5)

References

1.    https://senspdf.jse.co.za/documents/SENS_20231101_S481771.pdf

2.    https://www.aspenpharma.com/download/annual-financial-statements/?wpdmdl=14742&refresh=654a1996983501699355030

3.    https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/mounjaro

4.    https://www.sharenet.co.za/feeds/IR/sens_view.php?key=01814189cd2606403d6055060b28f318&link=20230504090000@13

5.    https://www.afdb.org/en/documents/new-frontier-african-pharmaceutical-manufacturing-industry

About the Author

Shem Oirere graduated from the University of South Africa with a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy, and also holds a Diploma in Journalism from the London School of Journalism. He previously worked for the Kenya Times, Nation Media Group and The People Daily over a twenty-year span as a business writer and Sub-editor. He wishes to share a view of the scenes behind Africa's latest pharma market trends with the rest of the world.