US embassy cable - 05DJIBOUTI477

UNCLAS DJIBOUTI 000477 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, ECON, EFIN, EAID, PGOV, DJ, TC 
SUBJECT: DJI-PHARMA, DJIBOUTI'S PHARMACEUTICAL FACTORY 
 
1. (U) Summary: President Guelleh recently inaugurated Dji- 
Pharma, a government owned pharmaceutical plant.  Dji- 
Pharma, engineered by the French firm "Ingenerie 
Pharmaceutique Modulaire," plans to fulfill all the needs 
of the country in the four mostly used intravenous 
perfusions in Djibouti hospitals. Djibouti's investment in 
the project totals USD 4.237 million.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) Members of diplomatic missions, the business 
community, representatives of international organizations, 
high government officials and representatives of the U.S. 
and French military were invited to the inauguration of 
Djibouti's first government-owned pharmaceutical plant. 
The "Organisme de Protection Sociale" (OPS), a governmental 
agency providing retirement, medical services, family 
allowances and care for injured employees, will operate 
Dji-Pharma.  The Director of OPS explained that his 
institution was charged by the government to put in place a 
local production unit of intravenous products.   By 2002 
contacts were made with the French firm "Ing_ierie 
Pharmaceutique Modulaire" (IPM), a subsidiary of ROMACO 
Group followed by an OPS investment of DF Million 750 (US 
Million 4.237) towards the project.  IPM assembled and 
tested the plant in France before sending it to Djibouti 
where it is housed in a building located at the Port Free 
Zone.  IPM also trained two pharmacists and two technicians 
to run the laboratory. An additional twenty people will 
assist these four senior employees.  A total of 10 persons 
will be dedicated to the production unit.  Experts from 
ROMACO will train Dji-Pharma staff on the job for one 
month.  Quality control will be monitored by ROMACO for the 
first month of production, after which the Djiboutian 
experts will take over.  ROMACO, will however make regular 
subsequent visits to Djibouti to validate the production. 
 
3. (U) At the initial stage, four products will be 
manufactured:  intravenous Sodium Chloride 0.9%, Glucose 5%, 
Glucose 10% and Ringer Lactate.  All these products are 
made in accordance with both European and U.S. 
pharmaceutical standards.  The products are contained in 
small and flexible bags of 500 ml, which make them easy for 
transportation and handling.  Up to twenty products, 
including generic drugs, are expected to be manufactured at 
a later stage.  During the first year of operation, Dji- 
Pharma will produce 750,000 bags to supply local needs 
(around 500,000) and sell the remaining products in sub- 
regional or COMESA markets.  The majority of intravenous 
products are currently imported from France.  The cost of 
Dji-Pharma products reportedly will average the current 
cost of intravenous products in Djibouti but be of the 
highest quality. 
 
4. (U) In his speech inaugurating the plant, President 
Guelleh stressed the importance of taking good care of the 
new equipment.  He added that the OPS made an excellent 
choice in selecting these initial products because they 
were very critical for emergency care.  He continued by 
saying that Dji-Pharma was a big step in giving autonomy to 
Djiboutian health care in its need for pharmaceutical 
products.  In his turn, the Minister of Labor, who controls 
OPS, went further by saying that Dji-Pharma was in line 
with the President's program of self-sufficiency.  The 
Minister reiterated that OPS paid for the full investment 
with no foreign assistance.  All the raw products are ready 
and the IPM technicians are making last preparations for 
Dji-Pharma to start production in a couple of months. 
 
RAGSDALE