JOHANNESBURG - Drugmaker Adcock Ingram is lobbying South Africa’s health authorities to increase the cap on price-regulated prescription medicine by 1.7 percent as the company grapples with a weaker rand, its CEO said.
The company reported on Wednesday a 25.5 percent increase in profit for the year ended June 30, boosted by a higher demand for antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV. However, CEO Andrew Hall told Reuters that in the past six to eight weeks it had started to see the impact of a sharp weakening of the rand this year.
South Africa introduced a Single Exit Price (SEP) in 2004, which is the price at which manufacturers must sell their products to ensure consumers can afford essential medication.
"The Board expects trading conditions to remain difficult with constrained consumer spend and high levels of unemployment, but is confident in the equity and resilience of the broad portfolio of brands in the Group," the company added.
- REUTERS