DISEASE MANAGEMENT in Africa

INDIA — Indian pharma major Cipla Limited (Cipla) has expanded its product portfolio with the launch of its new point-of-care medical testing device christened Cippoint designed to be a direct aid in clinical-decision making.

Cipla noted that Cippoint offers a wide range of testing parameters including cardiac markers, diabetes, infectious diseases, fertility, thyroid function, inflammation, metabolic markers, and coagulation markers.

AFRICA – Eli Lilly and Company, an American pharmaceutical company, and EVA Pharma, an Egyptian generic pharmaceutical manufacturer have collaborated to provide affordable insulin in Africa. The partnership will deliver a sustainable supply of high-quality, affordable human and analogue insulin to at least one million people living with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs), most of which are in Africa.

In a first for Lilly, the company will supply its active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for insulin at a significantly reduced price to EVA Pharma. Lilly will also provide a probono technology transfer to enable EVA Pharma to formulate, fill and finish insulin vials and cartridges –establishing the company as a trusted manufacturer of these lifesaving products in Africa.

EVA Pharma expects to begin distribution of African-made insulin products within 18 months and reach one million people per year by 2030. This collaboration is part of the Lilly 30×30 initiative, which aims to improve access to quality healthcare for 30 million people living in limited-resource settings, annually, by 2030. Lilly will work with EVA Pharma to ensure that their products meet the high-quality standards set for WHO prequalification, which has become a global symbol for safety, quality, and efficacy.

Cipla pointed out that its state-of-theart device is an immunofluorescencebased quantitative analyser that will allow healthcare professionals to identify DNA or RNA targets in 3-15 minutes to support them in generating accurate, reliable, and timely data. Moreover, the Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company stated that its new medical testing product will be retailed at affordable prices in India in an effort to bridge the current gap in the diagnostic ecosystem across the region.

Cipla reassured healthcare professionals that its easy-to-use device for molecular diagnostics can be used in rural areas, mobile vans, and remote areas with limited infrastructure thus enhancing the patient experience while delivering patient-centered care. Cipla confirmed that its point- of-care testing device is CE IVD approved – indicating the device is approved by the European In-Vitro Diagnostic Device Directive –thus ensuring reliable testing solutions.