Heading up the all-local team in Zambia is a highly experienced country lead, Tania Nyirongo. Future employment opportunities for Zambians are good, particularly as the business grows organically, at which point additional medical sales reps will be required.
The African continent is sitting on a veritable non-communicable disease time bomb with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, oncology and smoking related illnesses becoming increasingly prevalent. "There is a huge unmet medical need on the continent and Zambia is no different. The company has the right medical expertise and products to make a meaningful difference, particularly in the areas of non-communicable diseases," reports Karl Friberg, company president AstraZeneca South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The company is one of only a handful of pure-play biopharmaceutical companies to span the entire value chain of a medicine from discovery, early and late stage development, to manufacturing and distribution and the global commercialisation of primary care and specialty care medicines that transform lives.
As a global ethical company, it invests over US $4 billion annually in R&D to search for solutions to unmet medical needs. The company has a strong pipeline in place, particularly in respiratory, infection, oncology and diabetes, with plans to launch five new diabetes brands plus a drug for acute coronary syndrome in the near future.
"We are totally committed to the success of the business in Zambia. Our intention is to make a difference to the healthcare industry in Zambia and to this end we will be bringing in three international speakers to address the local medical community on the latest treatments in the areas of oncology, gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases as part of our launch. We also intend to host regular symposiums and product launches and to ensure close communications with the medical community through our medical sales reps," concludes Friberg.
Operational in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Angola, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, Mauritius and South Africa, it plans to launch in Rwanda next.
