💊 Africa’s push for climate investment; Ghana to make its own cholera vaccines; Japan’s Otsuka to acquire Canada’s Mindset

#421 | mPharma gets in on the layoff wave; Brain fog’s links to blood clots; Canine vaccine hesitancy

Hello there. Welcome back to The Kable for a more Africa-focused edition than usual, thanks to the ongoing Africa Climate Summit, the first one ever. First, an analysis of data from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre reveals that at 1.85 million, the total number of children in sub-Saharan Africa displaced within their home countries by climate-induced disasters nearly doubled in 2022. Nigeria led the list of highest internal displacements due to climate disasters.

But before we get into news on the African climate front, some other updates. The tenth edition of Pharmaconex 2023 concludes today on a high. The event brought Africa biopharma together for three days in Cairo to network with exhibitors and attendees from all around the world.

As Egypt looks to enhance bilateral healthcare cooperation, the country is discussing pharmaceutical collaboration with Indonesia. Also, the head of Egypt’s Healthcare Authority (EHA) is exploring opportunities for healthcare cooperation with Brazil, especially concerning knowledge exchange, skill development, and medical tourism.

The UK is providing £15 million from its Official Development Assistance budget to support healthcare staff recruitment and retention in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.

Meanwhile, the layoff wave has reached African shores as the Ghanaian startup mPharma is letting go of about 150 employees.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a cholera epidemic has been declared in the territory of Shabunda.

The National Cancer Institute has awarded the Moffitt Cancer Centre a five-year, $5.5 million grant. By partnering with institutions in the US, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Germany, it will form the Partnership to Assess Viral and Immune Landscape Intersections with Oncology (PAVILION) programme for people living with HIV. The programme’s main objective will be to develop cancer prevention and treatment strategies tailored specifically for LMICs with high HIV and cancer burdens.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare in South Korea has earmarked KRW 122.5 trillion for its 2024 budget, up 12.2% from its 2023 budget. This budget will be spent primarily on key areas like establishing a self-sufficient healthcare system and becoming globally competitive in bio and digital healthcare by supporting cutting-edge research.

Japan’s Otsuka Pharmaceutical is set to acquire Canada’s Mindset Pharma, a drug discovery-based R&D company working on psychiatric and neurological disorders, for roughly CAD 80 million.

The latest company to express interest in acquiring a piece of Cipla is the US’ Bain Capital. Bain has approached Dr Reddy’s Laboratories to explore the possibility of a joint bid.

Meanwhile, Cipla’s South Africa subsidiary has inked a deal to acquire South Africa-based OTC and generics player Actor Pharma.

Morgan Stanley is making a historic entry into Indian healthcare. Morgan Stanley’s Private Equity arm has bought a majority stake in ClearMedi Healthcare.

Biotech Celularity which develops allogeneic cell therapies has entered a research collaboration services agreement with Regeneron. Initially, the partners’ focus will be a targeted allogeneic gamma delta chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy against solid tumours, owned by Regeneron.

A Future Market Insights report projects that the single-use bioreactors market will touch $18.9 billion by 2033. This growth will be driven by the benefits of lower personnel, maintenance, and downtime expenses compared to traditional bioreactors.

And finally, the WHO has issued a medical product alert concerning a falsified batch of Defitelio. The drug is indicated for treating severe hepatic veno-occlusive disease in stem-cell transplantation therapy. The falsified products have been detected in India and Turkey.