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A new era for South Africa’s pharmaceutical industry was born today when the Western Cape Provincial Cabinet gave in-principle approval for the development of South Africa’s first health innovation hub.

The national Department of Science and Technology initiated discussion with the provincial government in early 2010 to establish a health technology park in the region. This was born out of the need to expand the production capabilities of the Biovac Institute, a public-private partnership which provides the majority of the essential vaccines to the government and is busy expanding their capacity to locally manufacture a number of vaccines, as well as conducts vaccine Research and Development (R&D).

The establishment of the health park is in line with the vision of the Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, for South Africa to become one of the top three emerging economies in the global pharmaceutical industry. Pandor said: “The health innovation hub will assist us to develop our biotechnology industry despite the complexity and the globally competitive nature of the industry.

Department of Science and Technology, as well as the national Department of Health both have significant investments in the Biovac Institute and were instrumental in ensuring that local competencies in R&D in vaccine development and manufacturing are improved upon and further developed.

The Cape Health Technology Park (CHTP), which would be located on land owned by all three spheres of government in the Pinelands/Ndabeni area, is a cross-governmental project aimed at bringing the country’s top medical firms, government and academia together to promote knowledge and services sharing, as well as a reduction in costs.

Western Cape Minister of Economic Development, Alan Winde, said: “Because we currently have very little pharmaceutical manufacturing capability, we are exporting our intellectual property only to have to re-import the finished product at a much higher cost. In order to correct the trade deficit in health care goods and make medicines cheaper for our people, we must own the pharmaceutical production process from start to finish. This is the first step toward achieving that.”

The Western Cape has several competitive factors that make it an ideal location for a health hub, including world renowned research centres and a respected healthcare legacy. It also houses 32% of the country’s biotechnology activity.

The provincial Cabinet’s approval guarantees access to a tract of provincial land if the project goes ahead. Now that it has been given, the National Department of Science and Technology (DST) will begin a detailed feasibility study to assess the viability of the project. The first phase of the project is likely to require an investment of R110 million once feasibility studies have been conducted.

It is estimated that the Cape Health Technology Park could deliver a significant number of jobs and a R1 billion return on investment into the province within five years. It will also position South Africa as an international manufacturer of vaccines for import into Africa and other continents.

The ability to locally manufacture essential vaccines is paramount to ensure that South Africa can be self-sustaining. This project is in line with the government’s drive to build innovation capacity in the country and utilise local talent to provide home-grown solutions that will enhance socio-economic development.

Dr Phil Mjwara, The Director-General of the Department of Science and Technology, commented that “the ability of all spheres of government to work together to enhance local innovation is very encouraging. We are looking forward to finding innovative ways of providing more job opportunities and build on South Africa’s ability to compete internationally in a highly skilled research and manufacturing sector’.