President Ramaphosa Launches FuturePHARMA to Strengthen South Africa’s Pharmaceutical Sovereignty

Tshwane, The Gulf Observer: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday launched the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) FuturePHARMA facility in Tshwane, describing it as a major milestone in strengthening the country’s pharmaceutical capabilities and advancing health sovereignty.

President Ramaphosa officiated the unveiling and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the CSIR Campus in Waterkloof before touring the facility, where he was briefed on advanced pharmaceutical development technologies and specialised capabilities.

Speaking at the launch, the President said FuturePHARMA represented an important step in South Africa’s efforts to harness science, technology and innovation to strengthen health security, industrial capacity and sustainable development.

The facility is an open-access pharmaceutical innovation and manufacturing platform providing specialised infrastructure and expertise to researchers, innovators and industry partners developing pharmaceutical technologies, including active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

FuturePHARMA is designed to help bridge the gap between laboratory research and the development, scale-up and commercialisation of pharmaceutical technologies, while supporting technology transfer and skills development.

President Ramaphosa said the COVID-19 pandemic had highlighted the risks associated with dependence on global supply chains for critical health products and underscored the need for countries to strengthen domestic scientific, technological and manufacturing capabilities.

He noted that health security, economic resilience and national development were closely interconnected, adding that FuturePHARMA would help create a more integrated ecosystem linking research and technology development with process development, clinical development, regulation, manufacturing, investment and procurement.

During his guided tour, President Ramaphosa interacted with scientists, researchers, engineers and technical specialists and observed demonstrations of the facility’s pharmaceutical development platforms.

He said South Africa had considerable scientific talent and a strong record of scientific achievement, but stressed that scientific excellence needed to be complemented by mechanisms enabling innovations to move from laboratories into development, commercial production and broader social application.

According to the President, FuturePHARMA would provide specialised infrastructure for pharmaceutical process development, scale-up and technology transfer, occupying an important space between laboratory research and commercial manufacturing.

He emphasised that the facility was not intended to function as a conventional commercial pharmaceutical manufacturing plant. Rather, it would provide shared infrastructure and expertise that could otherwise be too specialised or costly for individual researchers, universities and emerging companies to establish independently.

President Ramaphosa stressed that the success of the initiative would depend on close collaboration among government departments, universities, research councils, industry, regulators, investors and other stakeholders.

He said coordination was particularly important because the pharmaceutical value chain spans research and innovation, health priorities, industrial development, investment, financing and regulatory processes.

The President also highlighted the importance of linking initiatives such as the Pharmaceutical Roadmap and the Vaccine Innovation and Manufacturing Strategy with national health priorities, industrial opportunities and market demand.

Turning to Africa, President Ramaphosa said South Africa could contribute to strengthening regional pharmaceutical value chains, noting the African Union and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s focus on local manufacturing as a component of health security and sovereignty.

He said South Africa was well positioned to contribute through its research institutions, universities, regulatory capabilities and manufacturing capacity, while FuturePHARMA could facilitate collaboration with researchers, institutions and companies across the continent.

The President further underlined the importance of investing in skills alongside infrastructure, saying the facility would create opportunities for researchers, innovators and companies to advance technologies along the development pipeline.

He said the initiative would contribute to transforming research and innovation into technologies, enterprises, products and industries, thereby supporting inclusive economic growth and employment.

President Ramaphosa congratulated the CSIR, its scientists and technical teams, as well as the partners involved in establishing FuturePHARMA, expressing hope that the facility would become a platform for converting South African scientific knowledge into technologies and products that generate lasting social, industrial and economic value for South Africa and the wider African continent.