Senegal Breaks New Ground With Africa’s First Locally Made Generic Sickle Cell Drug

Senegal has taken a major step towards strengthening local pharmaceutical production after becoming the first African country to manufacture a generic treatment for sickle cell disease locally. The medicine, known as DREPAF, is a generic version of hydroxyurea, an established treatment used to manage sickle cell disease and reduce some of its most serious complications. It is being produced in Senegal by pharmaceutical company Teranga Pharma, in partnership with Drep. Afrique, an organisation working to improve access to sickle cell treatment across the continent.

The development is particularly significant because Africa carries a disproportionate share of the global sickle cell burden. The continent accounts for nearly 80% of sickle cell cases worldwide, yet many patients still depend on medicines imported from Europe and the Americas. The high cost and limited availability of those medicines can make consistent treatment difficult for families, particularly in countries where healthcare systems are already under pressure. DREPAF was granted marketing authorisation in Senegal in April 2025 and was launched later that year. The treatment is available in different formulations, including doses designed for adults and children. A paediatric formulation has also been developed for children as young as nine months, potentially widening access to treatment among younger patients.

For people living with sickle cell disease, access to hydroxyurea can make a substantial difference. The medicine is recommended by the World Health Organization and is used to reduce painful sickle cell crises, hospital admissions and the need for blood transfusions. It can also help reduce some of the complications associated with the disease, although it does not cure sickle cell disease. The importance of affordable treatment becomes clearer when looking at the daily reality of patients. Mamadou Tahirou, an 18 year old Senegalese patient, has lived with severe pain, anaemia and exhaustion caused by the condition. His illness has repeatedly disrupted his education and forced him to miss school when painful episodes become severe.

His experience reflects a wider challenge facing millions of people across Africa. Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder in which abnormal red blood cells can become rigid and block blood vessels, causing severe pain and other potentially life-threatening complications. For years, the continent’s dependence on imported medicines has been one of the obstacles to improving treatment. Local production could help change that equation by reducing import costs, shortening supply chains and making the medicine more accessible to patients who need it regularly.

Teranga Pharma’s production also represents a broader push towards pharmaceutical self-reliance in Africa. The COVID 19 pandemic exposed how vulnerable many African countries were when global supply chains were disrupted, with nations competing for essential medicines and medical supplies. Developing local manufacturing capacity is increasingly being viewed as a way to make African health systems more resilient. The Senegalese company is now looking beyond its domestic market. Its ambition is to expand access to DREPAF across other African countries, potentially creating a regional supply network for a medicine that remains difficult to obtain in many parts of the continent. The breakthrough does not, however, mean that the wider sickle cell treatment problem has been solved. Patients still need regular medical monitoring, diagnosis, blood transfusions where necessary and access to other forms of care. Local production must also be accompanied by reliable distribution systems and affordability if the medicine is to reach patients in rural and underserved communities.

For a continent that carries most of the world’s sickle cell burden while relying heavily on imported medicines, Senegal’s achievement demonstrates what local pharmaceutical manufacturing could mean for public health. If production can be expanded and the medicine made available across borders at affordable prices, the breakthrough could offer millions of patients a more reliable source of treatment while strengthening Africa’s ability to produce medicines for diseases that disproportionately affect its own population.