Major Breakthrough As Company Produces Africa’s First Locally Made Sickle Cell Treatment

• Teranga Pharma launched Drepaf, a generic hydroxyurea drug, in November 2025 to treat sickle cell disease across Africa
• Africa accounts for nearly 80% of global sickle cell cases but has long depended on expensive imported treatment from Europe and the Americas
• The initiative is backed by $7.1 million in funding, with Teranga Pharma aiming to supply the entire sub-Saharan continent by 2030

For 18-year-old Mamadou Tahirou, growing up with sickle cell disease has meant a childhood defined by hospital visits, missed school days, and a body that looks closer to that of a 12-year-old due to the toll the illness has taken.

Bone pain, severe anaemia, crushing fatigue, and intense headaches are a constant presence in his life. Fits of pain sometimes strike while he is in class, forcing him to leave before lessons end.

"It hurts a lot, and you suffer so much. And when you don't have enough resources to protect yourself from the illness, you suffer even more. My parents are exhausted, I know that," he said.

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His mother, Rabiatou Diallo, spoke about her son's condition with tears in her eyes.

"He has pain in his feet, and at the moment he cannot walk. It is very difficult. The treatment and hospital costs are very expensive,” she said in a report shared on 26 August 2026.

Africa's sickle cell crisis

Mamadou's story reflects a much wider challenge. Africa accounts for nearly 80% of all global sickle cell cases, yet the continent has long relied on costly treatment imported from Europe and the Americas.

This includes hydroxyurea, the gold-standard treatment endorsed by the World Health Organisation, which helps reduce painful crises, hospitalisations, blood transfusion needs, and premature death.

When patients could not access or afford imported supplies, local alternatives simply did not exist, leaving doctors to treat symptoms rather than the underlying cause.

Senegalese company Teranga Pharma makes major breakthrough

That gap has now been addressed by Senegalese pharmaceutical company Teranga Pharma, which developed Drepaf, a generic version of hydroxyurea produced on African soil.

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The drug was launched in November 2025 and is available in 500mg doses for adults and 100mg doses for children, with the stated aim of reducing sickle cell crises threefold.

Teranga Pharma CEO Mouhamadou Sow said the company's goal goes beyond commerce.

"Africans do not have access to the active ingredient. So the first key point is that Teranga Pharma has enabled Senegalese and Africans to gain access to this molecule," he said.

"Our approach is based not only on financial considerations but also on public health. Because if Africa is to develop, if Africa is to enjoy good health, the treatment that Africans take must be produced in Africa," he added.

Backed by $7.1 million in funding and supported by an Indian technical partner to scale production, Teranga Pharma is already working with Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Ivory Coast, and has received requests from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, and Cameroon.

The company has set a target of meeting demand across the entire sub-Saharan continent by 2030, as part of a broader push for pharmaceutical sovereignty on the continent.

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Woman living with sickle cell shares struggles

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that a Ghanaian professional teacher, Ama Nyarko Attafuah Quainoo, recounted her struggles and overcoming rounds of challenges as a person living with sickle cell anaemia.

Persons who suffer the inherited blood disease experience excruciating pain and are often exhausted.

Quainoo, 49, admits that life has never been the same since she was a young child.

Source: YEN.com.gh