Prosper Africa, in collaboration with IBM Consulting and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), has announced a pharmaceutical tracing pilot in South Africa.
Prosper Africa is a US government initiative that connects US and African businesses with new buyers, suppliers and investment opportunities.
The public-private collaboration will launch Pulse by NABP in SA, as part of the pilot project that will bring visibility to Africa’s pharmaceutical drug supply chains.
Pulse will connect US and global pharmaceutical companies – such as Pfizer and Roche − with African distributors and pharmacies in the market. This will enable better communication between trading partners and add security to the evolving supply chain by enhancing the ability to identify and trace medications, according to a statement.
British Robinson, Prosper Africa coordinator, says: “Through Prosper Africa’s Tech for Trade Alliance, under the Digital Trade for Africa initiative, we support partnerships between companies to leverage technology and create products/services that catalyse financial and social returns for Africans and Americans alike.
“We are excited that IBM will use its watsonx.ai capabilities in this pilot to help improve the traceability of drugs exported to Africa.”
The African pharmaceutical market was estimated at $26.85 billion in 2023 and is expected to expand by 3.4% from 2024 to 2030.
The distribution of pharmaceutical products in Africa is said to present commercial challenges, including fragmented supply chains, poor infrastructure and differences in regulations across countries.
As a result, the proposed Pulse pilot aims to help African distributors and pharmacies by enhancing operations, reducing spoilage, ensuring consistent stock and creating more profitable partnerships with international suppliers.
IBM Consulting, with its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered delivery platform IBM Consulting Advantage, will collect and analyse product scan data for Pulse by NABP, in collaboration with African pharmacies and retailers.
Additionally, IBM will provide training on AI tools like watsonx.ai to better enable pharmacies and retailers to make data-driven decisions.
“The launch of Pulse by NABP demonstrates the power of digital solutions in transforming the pharmaceutical supply chain,” comments Riaz Osman, managing partner, Southern Africa and Africa growth markets, IBM Consulting.
“By leveraging AI and data, we aim to create a secure, transparent environment that enables pharmacies and distributors to make more informed, data-driven decisions.”
Lemrey “Al” Carter, executive director of NABP, adds: “As an organisation whose mission is the protection of public health, we are excited to partner with Prosper Africa and IBM to provide tools that provide greater visibility into African pharmaceutical supply chains and support a more transparent, efficient and accessible market for medications.
“We look forward to leveraging Pulse by NABP as a pathway for future development of a successful, sustainable and scalable platform that in the future could provide patients with confidence in the safety and quality of the drugs they buy.”
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