The day’s proceedings covered various topics pertinent to industry growth including: global trends and opportunity analysis; market access through trade, export and investment; technology innovation; development in the Pharma and Medical Devices industries; localisation and local procurement, BioTech and health innovation.
Supported by key stakeholders, and active players in the province’s health technology ecosystem, the programme included presentations from the Department of Science and Technology’s Technology Innovation Agent (TIA), the Department of Trade and Industry (dti), South African Medical Technology Industry Association (SAMED), South Africa Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), Proudly SA and the Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT).
Reflecting on the extreme value in this sector, Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris commented: “Boasting four world class universities and two academic hospitals coupled with a strong ICT fraternity – Cape Town and the Western Cape is adequately resourced and positioned to act as a launchpad for health technology into the rest of Africa as well as globally. The Western Cape health technology sector currently contributes an estimated R1.7bn to the Western Cape economy and creates approximately 2 500 fulltime jobs, we hope to see these numbers increase as we work with our partners to strengthen this sector.”
Recognised globally and highly respected in the international healthcare network, the province’s trade of medical devices experienced strong growth from 2003 to 2013, increasing from R40m in 2003 to R202m in 20l13. A significant 67% increase in exports was recorded in 2013, while imports increased by only 7% - a clear indication of the growing global demand for Western Cape’s medical devices. To date, an impressive 40% of locally produced medical products are exported globally.
Further to this, the Western Cape plays host to a high concentration of medical device & healthcare companies, research institutes and research groups in South Africa. Cape Town is home to 1 of the International Centre’s for Genetics Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) 3 highest international standards laboratories. ICGEB is an intergovernmental organisation within the United Nations Common System, where innovative research in life sciences are carried out. Currently more than 60 researchers are investigating infectious (HIV/AIDS and malaria) and non-communicable diseases (cancer) at the Cape Town centre.
Further to this, the Biovac Institute in Cape Town - a public-private partnership that was formed in 2003 to try and revitalise the state’s human vaccine manufacturing capacity, received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in May 2017 for the development of a new Group B Streptococcus (GBS).
The vaccine will be developed in collaboration with PATH, an international non-profit global health organization. The vaccine will put Biovac on the map as only 1 of 3 companies in the world, and the only developing-country vaccine manufacturer, to develop a novel conjugate vaccine against GBS.
Addressing delegates at the development day was TIA’s Sarusha Pillay who said: “The Western Cape have a vibrant and eager innovation culture. The Agency in partnership with the DST, MRC-SHIP, the dti and other collaborators aim to launch a National Medical Devices and Diagnostic Technology Innovation Cluster to strengthen the industry ecosystem and de-risk innovative technology solutions. The aim, is to increase industry competitiveness in a transformational manner building a diverse and active pipeline of technology solutions.”
DEDAT’s Director Cape Catalyst for Infrastructure, Design and Innovation, Bianca Mpahlaza-Schiff, added: “The health technology industry is definitely on the way up. The sector has always been strong in the Western Cape, with different players taking the lead at different times. What Wesgro has done with the development day is bring together industry strengths from across sectors - together we can do more and working collectively in one cohesive environment, how can we not succeed? I believe it’s only going to get better from here."
“DST is boosting the Cape health sector through the creation of the Strategic Health Innovation Partnerships (SHIP), in collaboration with the South Africa Medical Research Council. The partnership has played a significant role in assisting us to leverage funding from different investors. Since SHIP’s establishment, we have shifted all our health innovation initiatives to Cape Town. It made sense for us to do this as most of the researchers are based in the city,” commented the Deputy Director of Health Innovation for the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Bruce Tshilamulele. “The DST is the lead department on the Bio-economy Strategy – a key part of the strategy is collaboration - today's session encouraged working together and we look forward to forging many new friendships and partnerships in the health tech sector as we strive to create products that will have a positive impact on the lives of the people of South Africa."
In a final comment, Wesgro’s Head of Special Projects, Jacythna Twynam, said: “The day’s proceedings served as an introduction to the knowledge based bio-economy programme, where we wish to engage with the different sectors. Later this year we are scheduled to host Cape BioWeek, which will provide an opportunity for health technology companies to engage with key stakeholders and tackle the challenges facing their business in one-on-one sessions, group training and workshops. We look forward to nurturing the Cape health ecosystem with our partners and strengthening this already strong sector.”
Issued by Wesgro Media Team, 1 August 2018