Business / Local
Datlabs shuts critical care factory
31 Mar 2016 at 00:38hrs | Views
The drastic fall in demand for its products has forced the closure of Bulawayo-based pharmaceutical firm Datlabs' critical care factory, an official said yesterday.
At its peak, Datlabs ran two factories, the critical care, which manufactures intravenous (drips) and the personal health care unit.
Speaking at the company during a tour of Bulawayo industries by Acting President Phelekezela Mphoko, the pharmaceutical concern's technical director, Victor Basopo said the critical care factory stopped production in 2006 after demand for its products dropped sharply.
"We stopped producing critical care products in 2006 when the government started receiving donations of critical care products. About 90 percent of what we produce from that factory goes to public institutions," he said.
Basopo said his company had the potential to upgrade and re-open the critical care factory once there is demand for the critical care products.
Recently, the government signed a three-year contract with a donor from Denmark for the supply of health care products such as drips to public health facilities.
The local pharmaceutical industry has bemoaned the move which it says is closing out local companies whose biggest market is the government institutions.
"If we're to restart the factory we need to start by upgrading so that we use modern technolgy.
We also need to have an increased uptake of the product by the government," said Basopo.
On the personal health care side, he applauded the government for promulgating Statutory Instrument 18 of 2016 saying it was curbing the influx of some imported products into the country.
In response Acting President Mphoko challenged the local pharmaceutical industry to promote research and development to sustain their operations.
"The pharmaceutical sector is very important. Companies such as Datlabs should promote research in order to come up with new products rather than wait for new products to be developed from elsewhere. In China every tree has got some medicinal value and given the resources the country is endowed with, we can't afford to wait to redevelop products that would have been developed elsewhere, said Acting President Mphoko.
He said the market for health products was vast and what was needed was to produce to relevant products.
At its peak, Datlabs ran two factories, the critical care, which manufactures intravenous (drips) and the personal health care unit.
Speaking at the company during a tour of Bulawayo industries by Acting President Phelekezela Mphoko, the pharmaceutical concern's technical director, Victor Basopo said the critical care factory stopped production in 2006 after demand for its products dropped sharply.
"We stopped producing critical care products in 2006 when the government started receiving donations of critical care products. About 90 percent of what we produce from that factory goes to public institutions," he said.
Basopo said his company had the potential to upgrade and re-open the critical care factory once there is demand for the critical care products.
Recently, the government signed a three-year contract with a donor from Denmark for the supply of health care products such as drips to public health facilities.
"If we're to restart the factory we need to start by upgrading so that we use modern technolgy.
We also need to have an increased uptake of the product by the government," said Basopo.
On the personal health care side, he applauded the government for promulgating Statutory Instrument 18 of 2016 saying it was curbing the influx of some imported products into the country.
In response Acting President Mphoko challenged the local pharmaceutical industry to promote research and development to sustain their operations.
"The pharmaceutical sector is very important. Companies such as Datlabs should promote research in order to come up with new products rather than wait for new products to be developed from elsewhere. In China every tree has got some medicinal value and given the resources the country is endowed with, we can't afford to wait to redevelop products that would have been developed elsewhere, said Acting President Mphoko.
He said the market for health products was vast and what was needed was to produce to relevant products.
Source - chronicle
