FuturePHARMA Targets Local Pharmaceutical Manufacturing in South Africa

South Africa still imports about 98% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used to make its medicines. Speaking at the launch of the CSIR’s FuturePHARMA facility in Tshwane, Dr Rachel Chikwamba said that dependence leaves local pharmaceutical manufacturing in South Africa exposed to external shocks, rising input costs and foreign exchange swings.

The facility is designed to close a specific gap. The country has strong early-stage research, but that strength fades when a discovery has to become a product that can be scaled safely and efficiently.

Building capacity for local pharmaceutical manufacturing in South Africa

The first phase built the capability to take research through product development and into clinical testing. A second phase will focus on scaling that capacity and on preparedness for future pandemics. The facility has two capability areas: small-molecule development for medicines such as painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, and biopharmaceutical development for protein-based medicines, including vaccines.

FuturePHARMA is designed as an open-access national platform. University researchers, other research councils and emerging firms can use its infrastructure, regulatory support and skilled staff to test whether a product is viable before building their own plants. For the cost side of that equation, see the affordability challenges facing local production.

Why it matters

SAHPRA’s CEO, Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela, tied local production to access to medicines and health security, and said the regulator will work with the CSIR while the facility obtains its regulatory authorisation. A plant that cannot get licensed cannot supply anyone, so that step is as important as the laboratory work. Earlier work on the push for local lenacapavir production shows how much depends on regulators, procurement and funders moving at the same pace as the science.

Source: SAnews, 7 October 2026