Africa Is New Growth Market for China-Made IVD Products

(Yicai) May 13 -- Chinese companies have been actively exporting the in vitro diagnosis products they develop and produce to markets including Africa, thanks to their advantages in quality and cost.About 50 percent to 60 percent of the bids the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics received for its recent medical testing products were from Chinese firms, Ifedayo Adetifa, chief executive officer of the FIND, told Yicai.Initiated by the World Health Organization in collaboration with the Gates Foundation, the FIND is a non-profit public health organization dedicated to developing, evaluating, and promoting cost-effective IVD products for infectious and epidemic diseases in low- and middle-income countries.China-made IVD products boast enhanced accessibility and reliability, thanks to the larger production capacity and lower manufacturing costs of Chinese companies, Adetifa explained.The Senegalese IVD market was dominated by European and US products before, Abib Nda, general manager of Senegalese medical device agency Saloum Pharma, told Yicai. But now, locals’ perception has changed with the improvement of China-Senegal relations, as they now prefer more cost-effective Chinese products, he noted.Due to the high cost of testing, many low-income people in Senegal could not afford it, Nda said. After founding the company in 2015, he started cooperating with Chinese firm Wondfo Biotech to bring more IVD products to Senegal and make high-quality IVD products affordable.Saloum Pharma helped Wondfo Biotech complete the registration, training, and after-sales services procedures for the Chinese company’s human immunodeficiency virus rapid test kits in Senegal after it passed the WHO pre-qualification for IVD in 2018, Nda explained.Wondfo Biotech’s HIV test kits were included in Senegal’s national medical guidelines and are now widely used as the first-line screening product for acquired immune deficiency syndrome, breaking the long-term monopoly of similar products from Europe and the US, Nda added.Chinese enterprises have always focused on ensuring that their products are effective in developing countries since the early design stage, and that is why they are favored by locals, Adetifa said.Contrary to what people think, the quality requirements of products sold in Africa are often higher than those in other markets, Xie Yin, business director of Edan, a leading supplier of IVD products that has made significant progress in the African market, told Yicai.In fact, products sold in Africa need to be more robust, durable, and cost-effective, she noted, adding that the most basic requirement for testing equipment there is that it should not break even after over a decade of use.Companies need to carefully understand the demands of local customers to make products that meet local needs, Xie said. For example, due to the unstable power supply in Africa and Latin America, the power sources of equipment sold there need to be specially designed to ensure a stable power supply. This is the key for Chinese suppliers to establish long-term brand influence in these markets.Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione