Through Successful Pharmaceutical Business
POSCO International's pharmaceutical business in Sudan is generating profits while at the same time contributing to improving people's health in the African country.
General Medicines Co. (GMC) in Sudan, a joint venture between POSCO International and Shinpoong Pharmaceutical, posted operating profit of US$8.05 million on sales of US$23.59 million in 2022, POSCO International said in a recent earning announcement.
POSCO International entered Africa in 1978. GMC was established in 1988, 10 years later. The establishment of GMC was initially aimed at contributing to improving the health of local residents rather than making profits.
The company set up GMC together with Shinpoong Pharmaceutical, a Korean drugmaker that succeeded in synthesizing a special treatment for endemic diseases in Sudan, and a local partner. The initial investment was US$1.05 million.
At that time, the people of Sudan used polluted Nile River water for living, so they were particularly vulnerable to parasitic infections, including distomiasis. In 1994, GMC produced Distocide, the first drug for bloodsucking distoma in Sudan, and distributed it across the country. The medicine is now recognized as an essential treatment in Sudan.
GMC has expanded its product lineups to include antibiotics, malaria treatments and diabetes/hypertension medicines and became the second-largest pharmaceutical company in Sudan with about 200 employees. Its goal is to become the No. 1 company within 10 years.
In March 2022, the drugmaker purchased a 43,000-square-meter site to construct a new factory to produce over-the-counter drugs and modernize the current factory. It plans to steadily strengthen its competitiveness in the rapidly growing African pharmaceutical market.
In particular, GMC carries out various social contribution activities, including a medicine distribution project for remote areas, financial support for the renovation of Khartoum Hospital, support for potable water facilities at the Shejara Technical High School.
On Feb. 14, GMC delivered scholarships to 20 students from marginalized families at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Khartoum. This is the first case that students at the University of Khartoum receives scholarships from a pharmaceutical company. GMC plans to make 2023 the first year of its scholarship program and further expand it to other universities and colleges.