The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) will be speeding up the evaluation of locally manufactured drugs and vaccinesto reduce the country's reliance on imports and prevent future supply shortages, reported Business Day (15 July 2025).
This follows intermittent shortages of crucial imported medicines, including GLP-1 agonists for diabetes and obesity, and essential painkillers such as morphine.
SAPHRA aims to halve the registration time for locally produced vaccines from 360 to 180 working days and local manufacturers' submissions will now be prioritised over imported products.
Local products will undergo the same scientific assessment as imported ones, but they will benefit from the standard registration fee rather than the higher fee currently applied to priority products.