Wrapsa, South Africa’s biggest pharmaceutical contract manufacturer and packaging company, was one of the exhibition participants at the International Conference of Drug Regulatory Authorities (ICDRA) conference, held in Cape Town, where the company had the opportunity to meet representatives of international drug companies and regulators.

“Our participation offered us the ideal opportunity to network with representatives and decision makers from the global pharmaceutical companies as well as interesting regulatory organisations, such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Registration in Nigeria,” says Jannie Nel, responsible pharmacist at Wrapsa.

Wrapsa found its exhibition was especially important in showcasing local South African manufacture. This being one of the value-adding initiatives of the 17th ICDRA conference. “Wrapsa was able to meet with technical experts, patient groups, civil society, government, industry and international regulatory authorities who all encourage local drug manufacture,” Nel says.

While local drug manufacture is important to keep local prices affordable, the export opportunities it creates will in turn affect the economy and increase likelihood of increasing job opportunities in the country in a positive way.

“Regarding, reliability, safety, efficacy and quality, there is no doubt that our operations and products are comparable with the rest of the world. Discussions around new initiatives for public/private partnerships, product development and faster regulatory outcomes were also very exciting as we plan for the future,” Nel says.