Ghana’s pharmaceutical market is currently estimated to grow at an annual compound rate of 13.9 percent, the Trade and Industry Minister has said.

According to Alan Kyeremanten, Ghana’s pharmaceutical market is estimated at US$600 million while local production supplies amount to about 33 percent of the national essential medicines’ necessities.

Speaking at the launch of the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s GH¢3.34 million coronavirus (COVID-19) support programme, Trade and Industry Minister said “the pharmaceutical market in Ghana is currently estimated at US$600 million, with a compounded annual growth rate of 13.9 percent, with local companies supplying about 33 percent of the national essential medicines requirement.”

“With about 38 pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, Ghana’s pharmaceutical manufacturing sector is considered among the most vibrant within the ECOWAS sub-region. As a result of this, there has been a positive perception of Ghana’s regulatory capacity among neighboring country's positions in terms of investments in the sector for export into the sub-region where the market share of imports is currently estimated at over 70 percent.”

The Development Director of the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (UK), Phillip Smith in his remarks said the support package was intended to facilitate the pharmaceutical sector.

“Additionally, the support will hopefully open up opportunities for greater partnerships between the UK’s and Ghana’s private sectors. For example, we are exploring partnerships between pharma industries in the UK and Ghana on issues such as joint ventures and technology transfer and exploration around vaccines production and deployment in Ghana,” he disclosed.

The support package will be disbursed to local manufacturers of pharmaceutical products over the next 12 months in a bid to guarantee that jobs and capacity in the sector were preserved mainly in the COVID-19 recovery phase.

Present at the launch was the Ghana National Chamber of Pharmacy and the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Ghana (PMAG).