Launch of our activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo!

After launching its activities in nearly ten sub-Saharan African countries since 2019 and two weeks after the inauguration of its operations in Guinea, Biogaran has now made its presence official in the Democratic Republic of Congo with the objective of giving access to quality medicines to all

From left to right : Dr. Rémy Kapongo, endocrinologist, Dr. Julien Ntaongo Alendi, representative of the Minister of Public Health, Hygiene and Prevention, Mr. Nicolas Folliot, Export Director of Biogaran, Mr. Bertrand Bisengimana, President of the French-Congolese Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The pharmaceutical laboratory Biogaran officially launched its activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, February 11, 2022. The inauguration ceremony took place at the Béatrice Hotel in Kinshasa in the presence of several officials and professionals from the health sector. Among the guests were Dr. Julien Ntaongo Alendi, representative of the Minister of Public Health, Hygiene and Prevention, Mr. Bertrand Bisengimana, President of the French-Congolese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Geoffroy de Liedekerke, Ambassador of the Order of Malta, Dr. Glory Panzu, Vice-President of the Order of Pharmacists, Mr. Nicolas Folliot, Export Director of Biogaran and many other guests, actors of the healthcare community and representatives of the Biogaran laboratory.

This new development of Biogaran’s activities allows the laboratory to pursue its ambition to make quality medicines available to all, after having expanded its operations in nearly 10 sub-Saharan African countries since 2019, including Senegal, Ivory Coast and Mali.

Joining the government’s public health efforts

The Democratic Republic of Congo is of great importance to Biogaran, which wishes to contribute to the government’s public health efforts by offering patients and healthcare professionals quality generic medicines at a competitive price, 89% of which are manufactured in Europe and meet the strictest European standards.

In 2016, the Ministry of Public Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo adopted a new National Health Development Plan with the objective of improving the health and well-being of the population so that everyone can live in good health at all ages. The emphasis has been placed on improving the supply and use of quality health care as well as on increasing the financial accessibility of the population to quality health care¹ in a region particularly affected by the scourge of counterfeit medicines. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 100,000 deaths occur each year in Africa due to the use of counterfeit medicines².

In this context, Biogaran wishes to offer patients the possibility of being treated with safe, effective and quality generic drugs, imported directly from France where they treat millions of French patients every day. Biogaran medicines are bioequivalent to their original drug, are 50% manufactured in France and 89% in Europe and are distributed in state-approved pharmacies by a certified wholesaler.

Biogaran medicines marketed in the country cover a wide range of diseases that are increasingly present on the African continent, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, conditions that affect a significant proportion of the population of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Indeed, a study conducted with the WHO in 2006 on the population of Kinshasa revealed a prevalence rate of hypertension of 26.7% and a prevalence rate of diabetes of 15.5%³.

The 24 drugs that will be marketed by Biogaran come from 9 different therapeutic areas and will make it possible to treat these pathologies as well as other serious conditions such as cancer and infections.

Committed to healthcare professionals and patients

Biogaran’s commitment to patients also takes the form of therapeutic education tools to help patients better understand their pathology. In addition, the packaging of Biogaran medicines has a pictographic area that allows the pharmacist to write down the dosage and the patient to follow it in complete safety.

Biogaran also wants to support healthcare professionals by providing them with up-to-date medical information. This is why Biogaran created the Académie Biogaran in 2020, a free continuing education programme for African healthcare professionals in the form of webinars held every two months. An opportunity for healthcare professionals to share, learn and discuss a variety of health topics.

Finally, Biogaran is committed to continuous improvement of the quality of its medicines, which is why it is possible for anyone, whether a patient or a healthcare professional, to easily declare a case of pharmacovigilance, medical information or a quality complaint directly on the pharmacovigilance page of our website.

Biogaran in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Biogaran intends to provide access to quality care for patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Biogaran also wishes to provide services and to organize screening activities in the country to encourage access to care for all.

You can consult the list of medicines available in the Democratic Republic of Congo by clicking here.

1. Plan National de Développement Sanitaire 2016-2020 – Ministère de la Santé Publique – République démocratique du Congo

2. United Nations – Africa Renewal – Counterfeit drugs raise Africa’s temperature – 2013

3. Enquête sur les facteurs de risque des maladies non transmissibles à Kinshasa, capitale de la RD Congo, selon l’approche STEPS de l’OMS. (2006, Novembre). OMS. https://www.who.int/ncds/surveillance/steps/STEPS_DRC_Final.pdf