Abstract

Welcome and Introduction by Conference Chairperson and Vision of Continuous Flow - Local API Manufacturing

Paul Watts, Distinguished Professor and Research Chair, Nelson Mandela University

Africa has a variety of formulation companies, however the active pharmaceutical ingredients are generally imported. This results in increased drug costs, making medications unaffordable to many patients in Africa.  

When micro reactor technology and flow chemistry was introduced it was seen as a research and development tool, however it is now being used to produce large quantities of product. The drivers being increased safety, higher yields and purity as well as reduced production cost. There is now a range of commercial reactors on the market, which means that most companies are investigating this technology to rapidly screen reactions, leading to the identification of reaction conditions that are suitable for use at a production level.

COVID-19 caused drug shortages around the world, demonstrating the need for local production capacity.  To this effect, we are working on developing local drug manufacturing capacity in Africa using continuous flow technology, with the goal of lowering the cost of drugs, improving drug accessibility and ultimately improving Africa’s health. A selection of cases studies will be presented.