By Edson Baraukwa | Africa Guardian
AfriSummit 2024, an initiative by PRA Consultancy and organized by Hubplus Events in collaboration with Pioneers, is set to take place from November 3-6, 2024, at the Grand Nile Tower in Cairo, Egypt. This landmark event will bring together key players from the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors, regulatory authorities, and leading solution providers from Africa and around the globe. The summit aims to unify healthcare regulations, ensuring greater access to safe, effective, and high-quality medicines across the continent.
Dr. Najiba Al Shezawy, co-founder of AfriSummit, highlights the summit’s critical role: “Regulatory harmonization ensures that all Africans have access to safe and effective medicines. AfriSummit is key to achieving meaningful progress in this area.”
The summit will feature a lineup of expert speakers from national regulatory bodies, the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, and global health organizations. Key topics will include regulatory convergence, compliance, and innovative pathways. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in specialized workshops on Pharmacovigilance and electronic Common Technical Document (eCTD), equipping them with cutting-edge knowledge and best practices.
A highlight of the event will be a presentation on the current state of the African Medicines Agency (AMA) by AUDA-NEPAD, followed by insightful sessions and a panel discussion on reliance in post-approval changes. The MedDevReg AfriSummit will also address crucial issues like “Ensuring Compliance in Africa: MDSAP Audits and GMP Site Inspections for Medical Devices” and “Securing the Supply Chain: Combating Counterfeits in Medical Devices in Africa.”
The summit is supported by several sponsors, including Haleon as the Titanium Sponsor, Abbott and VISIOTT | TPS as Gold Sponsors, VECTOR Life Sciences as the Silver Sponsor, and UniClue for Consultation Services as the Associate Sponsor. The Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) is the Networking Partner, EVOTEQ is the Lunch Sponsor, and EXTEDO is sponsoring the eCTD AfriSummit Workshop.
With Africa’s pharmaceutical market projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.6% from 2020 to 2027, reaching over $70 billion, regulatory harmonization is critical in reducing costs, accelerating access to new medicines, and improving healthcare outcomes.
Dr. Mona al Moussli, co-founder of AfriSummit, expressed her enthusiasm for the upcoming event: “The 4th edition of AfriSummit in Cairo represents progress and innovation, emphasizing the importance of harmonization and reliance in Africa. This year’s summit will act as a catalyst for positive change in the pharmaceutical regulatory landscape across the continent.”
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