To work closely in transactions between India and African nations in all the disciplines of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, the Pharmaceutical Exports Council (Pharmexcil) has called for a Forum of all African countries.

African countries are open to the idea of creating such a forum to facilitate smooth transactions among the countries, said Venkat Jasti, vice-chairman, Pharmexcil.

Addressing a gathering of a high level delegation from 12 African countries and industry members of the Council, he said India had been offering affordable medicines with high quality to these countries and would keep supplying them, following the stringent regulatory norms.

India is yet to fully exploit the potential in African markets. The Forum can help India in understanding the needs of the African nations and can enable the supply of required drugs at affordable prices. India is to launch new molecules in the coming years, and this can benefit Africa too. Issues relating to registration of drugs will be taken care of. Quality related complaints can be addressed by the Council, Jasti added.

Abdalmahmood Abadalhaleem Mohammed, the Ambassador of Sudan pointed, "Not all African countries have quality laboratories and quality control systems in place. It allows exporters to dump poor quality drugs. India can extend its support in setting up quality labs in the African region so that drug quality testing can be ensured and no substandard and poor quality drugs are marketed."

"Developing countries like India have made progress in technology and innovation in the pharmaceuticals sector, and it helps poor nations to get quality drugs at reasonable price. On the quality front, Indian regulatory authorities can provide African nations a list of drug manufacturers who comply to international regulatory standards. Such list of legitimate players can act as a B2B tool between India and African nations. Complete database of suppliers of certain formulations can help Africa in accessing to quality medicines," said Elyes Kasri, the Ambassador of Tunisia.

It was evident from the African delegation that visited Hyderabad recently that African countries desired new investments in the continent rather than mere export-import relation currently they have with India. The countries also sought India's active participation in the research programmes associated with malaria, tetanus, diphtheria and other tropical diseases. The needs of India and African countries are similar and thus there can be a perfect fit in the approach to combat common diseases. The countries also expect India's support in providing technology know-how in developing quality drugs, the African delegates opined.

Soon, drug registration authorities and officials from purchase organizations of the African countries are likely to visit India.