US drugs firm Serenus opens office in Nairobi for Africa expansion

Serenus Biotherapeutics, a US company that distributes drugs and medical devices in Africa, has opened its regional office in Nairobi.

The new office will be the base for rolling out its products in eastern and central Africa.

“These new offices will expand our access to critical markets, allow us to better serve patient populations, and support our growth as late-stage drug development and commercial company,” said Serenus chief executive and founder Menghis Bairu.

The company said it was targeting the growing market for drugs that treat lifestyle diseases.

The region, including Kenya, is currently seeing an increase in diseases associated with modern or sedentary lifestyles although this is not matched by expansion in services of managing them.

“While the region suffers from a high incidence of infectious diseases, such as malaria, cholera, meningitis, and tuberculosis, there is an increasing burden of non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular, diabetes, respiratory and neurological diseases, and cancer among others,” said the company in a statement.

The company’s business model is to distribute drugs that are manufactured by big pharmaceutical companies but whose patents have not expired.
The drugs are normally expensive and the alternative for patients is to wait for more affordable generics.

Serenus says it plans to distribute the drugs at competitive prices.

Kenya’s pharmaceutical market is estimated to have raked in Sh33.5 billion as at the end of 2014 and is estimated to be growing at an average annual rate of 14 per cent.

READ: Private equity firm Catalyst buys stake in Mimosa Pharmacy

Private equity (PE) firms are also investing in the pharmaceutical sector by buying into distribution companies to take advantage of the expanding business of medical drugs.

Fanisi Capital has invested in Haltons Pharmacy. The PE firm has most recently revealed plans to invest Sh2 billion in a move intended to quadruple the drug retailer’s stores in the next two years.

Catalyst Principal Partners, another PE firm, and Africa Chemist & Beauty Care of Mauritius, bought into Goodlife Pharmacy chain in September last year.

On its part, Serenus also distributes medical equipment mainly from the US, Europe and Japanese markets.

The US-based company joins its compatriot Guided Therapeutic, which has submitted a proposal to the Health Ministry to introduce its cancer screening devices to the local market.