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Growth & Jobs | Pharmaceutical market expected to earn US$97m this year

Published:Tuesday | May 14, 2024 | 12:07 AM
Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, and Member of Parliament for St Catherine Central, Olivia Grange (centre), and Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister, Senator Aubyn Hill (second right), cut the ribbon to open the new R.A. Williams
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Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, and Member of Parliament for St Catherine Central, Olivia Grange (centre), and Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister, Senator Aubyn Hill (second right), cut the ribbon to open the new R.A. Williams Distributors Limited facility in the New Brunswick Village in St Catherine recently. Observing (from left) are Chief Operations Officer, R.A. Williams Distributors Limited, Jewel Reid; founder and Chief Quality Officer Evelyn Williams; and Chief Executive Officer Audley Reid.

THE RECENT expansion of local pharmaceutical giant R.A. Williams Distributors Limited into Spanish Town, St Catherine, is expected to contribute to the growth of the pharmaceutical market in Jamaica, which is projected to achieve US$97 million this year.

Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister, Senator Aubyn Hill, in his address at the recent opening of the company’s new complex in the New Brunswick Village, said the projection was taken from the Statistics Portal for Market Data.

“[The industry] is expected to grow by about five or six per cent in the next year,” the minister noted.

Senator Hill said that as of March 31, 2024, the Pharmacy Council of Jamaica has on record 587 pharmacies, along with approximately 1,369 pharmacists, adding that the sector is poised to be a major player in Jamaica’s development.

Situated on 21,000 square feet of space, the state-of-the-art, temperature-controlled storage facility is designed to utilise solar technology to power its operations.

A total of 288 solar panels have been included in the design of the facility, providing 132kW solar capacity, contributing to as much as 90 per cent of its energy requirements.

Chief Executive Officer of R.A Williams Distributors Limited Audley Reid said the company trades more than 130 products, spanning eight international pharmaceutical manufacturers.

R.A. Williams recently welcomed its ninth pharmaceutical manufacturer, Fourrts (India) Laboratories Pvt Limited. R.A. Williams is now the exclusive distributor of Fourrts Labs in Jamaica.

The company also closed a deal recently with Canadian-based pharmaceutical manufacturer Ryvis Pharma to represent the company in Jamaica as its second distributor.

“Our enhanced infrastructure will allow us to attract a wider range of local and international manufacturers and to expand our product range to meet increasing demand,” he said.

For the year 2023, R.A. Williams accrued $1.4 billion in sales.