Португальская фармкомпания FHC планирует открыть завод по производству стерильных инъекций в ЮАР

Portuguese pharmaceutical group FHC will use its recent acquisition of Activo Health from JSE-listed Afrocentric to strengthen its presence in Africa, starting with a push into sterile injectables, senior executives said on Monday. FHC is a privately held company that owns Laboratórios Basi, a pharmaceutical manufacturer based in Mortágua, Portugal, which reported a turnover of about €543m (about R10bn) in 2025. Activo Health sells a range of nonprescription products, including vitamins, but only recently began bidding for state contracts. It currently supplies six medicines to the state, according to the health department’s master products list. FHC’s plans for sterile injectables herald increased competition for established players Adcock Ingram and Fresenius Kabi, which dominate the local market for large- and small-volume parenterals. Large-volume parenterals include intravenous solutions administered via a drip, while small-volume parenterals are packaged in vials. Activo Health CEO Naz da Silva said Laboratórios Basi had already supplied the public sector and private health-care facilities with some critical-care products during stock shortages. These include the diuretic furosemide and magnesium sulphate, which is used to treat seizures, she said. FHC intends to establish a sterile manufacturing facility in South Africa for large- and small-volume parenterals, said FHC-Farmacêutica SA board president and co-owner of FHC Group, Joaquim Chaves. Three sites are under consideration, he said, declining to identify the locations or disclose the scale of the planned capital investment. South Africa was an attractive market due to its well-established regulatory systems and relative stability compared with other African countries, said Chaves. “You go to another country in Africa, you don’t know if you will get your money back or not because [you] can have a devaluation on the currency,” he said. FHC, which has an established presence in Angola and Mozambique, intends to consolidate its operations in South Africa, he said. Afrocentric announced in December it would sell its pharmaceutical business Activo Health and its subsidiaries to the privately held FHC Group. The transaction included an upfront payment of R100m, deferred payments related to Activo Health’s receivables, net debt and working capital when the deal closed, and earn-outs based on the future performance of Activo Health. Chaves said he was not particularly concerned about the issues recently flighted in parliament by the industry association Pharmaceuticals Made in SA. The association raised concerns about recent job losses in the sector, which it attributed in part to government procurement policies and the health department’s approach to price controls in the private sector. FHC was comfortable working in a competitive and regulated market, said Chaves. Business Day