Members of the Kenya Association of Pharmaceutical Industry (KAPI) have elected their Executive Committee, with the chairperson and three other office bearers retaining their positions at the Annual General Meeting held in April.
KAPI brings together pharmaceutical companies that research, develop, manufacture and import Healthcare products and technologies in Kenya.
The newly elected Executive Committee will serve for a one-year term.
Dr Anastasia Nyalita from Bayer East Africa Ltd will continue to serve as chairperson, with Vinod Guptan of Surgipharm as vice chairman, Dr Winnie Ng’ang’a of GlaxoSmithKline as executive secretary and Dr. Douglas Weru of Bayer as Honorary Treasurer.
The executive committee will also comprise the following, who were all elected as members: Dr Sara Agak (Laborex Kenya), Dr Evah Amwayi (GlaxoSmithKline), Dr Francis Karanja (GlaxoSmithKline), and Dr Willy Soriney (Pfizer).
In her remarks after the election, Dr. Nyalita emphasized on the need for ethical business practice in the pharma industry to the benefit of Kenyans and by delivering high quality medicine.
“Our priority as the pharmaceutical industry is to contribute towards improving the health of people through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. We must strive to create innovation and deliver innovative medical solutions that meet the needs of patients,” she said.
Dr Nyalita has served as KAPI chairperson for the last two years and has been instrumental in steering the industry to adopt the Code of Practice to foster ethical interactions between the pharmaceutical companies and Healthcare Professionals.
She has also presided over setting up an office, secretariat and increasing advocacy for the Association.
The industry will continue to stand on the forefront of healthcare change and support the country in implementing Universal Healthcare
KAPI has been instrumental in lobbying for various forward looking legislations, namely 25% tax and 10% verification fees on imported pharmaceuticals; Finance Bill of 2018 that proposed to classify medicines under VAT exemption category moving it from VAT zero rated. KAPI also participated in the stakeholder discussions on rollout of Universal Healthcare by the Ministry of Health; and a regional meeting on the development of the pharmaceutical value chain.
Members reaffirmed their commitment to the Code of Practice that members passed in 2016, now revised for 2019. The KAPI Code of Practice is a self-regulation tool for the Association members (local and multinational pharmaceutical firms) and seeks to curb unethical practices in the pharmaceutical marketplace.
The code is binding to all KAPI members and restricts them from influencing doctors or any other HealthCare Professionals (HCP) prescribing practices, through unethical means. It also prohibits KAPI members from offering financial benefit or any other benefit in kind as an inducement for the HCP services.
Looking forward, Dr. Nyalita said that the industry will continue to stand on the forefront of healthcare change and support the country in implementing Universal Healthcare while continually striving to fulfill the expectations of the stakeholders and society with focus on the patient being the main consideration.
