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In this presentation, the Deputy Secretary General of the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectorial Associations will introduce the current state and opportunities in Africa's public pharmaceutical procurement market. The session will cover the demand for pharmaceuticals and medical supplies across the continent and the overall environment of public procurement in Africa’s pharmaceutical sector. Additionally, the presentation will offer insights into investment opportunities in the region, potential challenges, and strategies for entering and succeeding in this market.​

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Mr. Seyoum Chane holds a B.A in Economics and an M.Sc in Economic Policy Analysis from Addis Ababa University. With over 27 years of experience in both government and private sectors, he currently serves as Deputy Secretary General for Membership Affairs, Communications, and Projects at the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce. Previously, he was the Policy Research and Advocacy Manager at the chamber. His past roles include Planning and Business Development Manager at Nile Insurance, Marketing and Sales Manager at Habesha Cement, Senior Economist, and Head of Planning at the Amhara National Regional State, freelance business consultant, and Livelihoods Promotion Coordinator at PRO PRIDE. 

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The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is the world's largest free trade area, offering groundbreaking investment opportunities in Africa's pharmaceutical sector. In this session, the Deputy Commissioner of Ethiopian Investment Commission(EIC) will present strategies for pharmaceutical production and distribution across the continent utilizing AfCFTA. Additionally, the session will cover the pharmaceutical market environment in Africa, investment incentives, and how to navigate the integrated African market under AfCFTA. 

<Speaker>

Dr. Zeleke Temesgen is currently serving as the Deputy Commissioner of the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) and as the Chief of Staff and Legal Advisor to the Speaker of the House of Federation of Ethiopia. He also works as an external collaborator with the International Training Center of the International Labour Organization (ITC-ILO) in the fields of public procurement, sustainable development, industrial and employment relations, and international trade law. Additionally, he has served as a researcher at the Max Planck Institute and has lectured on WTO law at the University of Rwanda. He has also provided legal advisory services for the Human Rights and Migration Law Clinic. With extensive expertise and experience in international law, economic policy, and public policy, he plays a significant role in Ethiopia's public administration and international cooperation. His career has notably contributed to legal and policy development across both Africa and Europe. 

<Lecture>

As we move well into a post-covid world, consumer needs and preferences in dietary supplements have shifted and this has stimulated new innovations and launches in the market. 

One trend is the shift in new and more convenient ways to take dietary supplements; gummies continue to rise in popularity, overtaking traditional pills and capsules in some categories in North America. Innovative formats such as powders, shots, and candy-like chewable have seen increased use in supplements made for children or people with trouble swallowing pills. Other formats include drinkable shots, on-the-go jellies, and mini-size capsules.

Another important development in the dietary supplement segment is the impact of flavours, especially in new and innovative formats. Understanding these developments will support industry players to better address consumer needs and capture more opportunities in the market. 

<Speaker>

This speaker graduated from the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at Ewha Womans University and received a master's degree in functional extract analysis research. Afterwards, she worked at Biofood CRO, managing clinical trials of health functional food ingredients and ingredient registration consulting, and then proceeded with product registration at the dsm-firmenich Korea branch. She is currently in charge of B2B marketing for vitamins and other functional ingredients in the marketing team at dsm-firmenich. 

<Lecture>

Introduce safety management global trends focusing on GMP and export support project of Korea Agency of HACCP Accreditation and Services 

<Speaker>

As a veterinary doctor, he has held major positions in the food safety-related fields such as Korea Agency of HACCP Accreditation and Services 

<Lecture>

This study aims to review the latest research trends in exploring functional ingredients for health supplements and incorporating functional food tech technologies. In particular, it introduces research trends and application methods from the exploration of functional ingredients to the verification of their effects using alternative animal testing methods such as in silico HTS tech, in situ perfusion, algorithms, meta-analysis, and organoids. 

<Speaker>

Professor Kim received Ph.D. from Cornell University and is currently a professor at the Department of Food and Biotechnology at Korea University. He conducts functional food research, focusing on health functional foods and food regulatory science, and has published many SCI-level papers to contribute to the food field. In addition, he has led various collaborative projects with the industry and recognized as a leading expert in the food field by demonstrating outstanding research results in the field of functionality and safety evaluation. 

<Lecture>

This presentation introduces various regulatory support achievements and future directions pursued by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, including technical support for the recognition of health functional foods and the harmonization of global regulations related to evaluation of functional ingredients. 

<Speaker>

Dr. You-Gyoung Park received her Ph.D. in Food Toxicology from Seoul National University and has been working at the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) since 2006. She has been mainly involved in risk assessment of harmful substances in food and planning R&D projects funded by MFDS. Recently, she has taken on responsibilities related to technical support for the recognition of functional ingredients. 

<Lecture>

Osteoporosis is a bone disorder with low bone density and its incidence ranges from one in 2 women after 50. In the present study, we screened endemic Species of Korea having osteogenic activity to find a cure for osteoporosis. ALP (alkaline phosphatase) activity in MC3T3-E1 preosteoblasts was estimated to estimate osteogenic activity. Among 20 species of plants, three hexane fractions of BPRL, BPCW and BPAP elevated ALP activity significantly. Those activities were confirmed by Western blot: elevation of the level of RUNX2, Osterix and type 1 collagen alpha 1 (Col1a1). In ovariectomized mice, those fractions suppressed bone loss by menopause. In conclusion, we found 3 novel endemic species in Korea having osteogenic activity, so that those could be candidates for anti-osteoporotic agents. 

<Speaker>

*Development of novel agents having anti-osteoporotic property, 

*Development of standardized natural products from smart farming system, 

*Clarification of novel targets regulationg osteoporosis and metabolic disease using Diversity outbred mice​ 

<Lecture>

​This present involve the studies that aimed to develop the functional resources on high-fat dietinduced obesity in mice and to examine its effects on gut dysbiosis. The characteristic compound of developed resources was quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography. Developed resources enhanced the proliferation of beneficial probiotic strains, including Lactiplantibacillus and Bifidobacterium. HF-induced model showed that the administration of 100 mg/kg/day of developed resources for 8 weeks significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the body weight, serum lipid levels, and insulin resistance, which were associated with notable changes in lipid metabolism and inflammation-related markers. Our results demonstrate that the developed resources consumption could mitigate obesity and metabolic endotoxemia in HF-fed mice through enhancing intestinal environment.

​<Speaker> 

Dr. Park's main research interests are intestinal health and immune response, and he studies the effects of food and its components on 'intestinal microorganisms', 'intestinal permeability', 'immune response', and 'metabolites' that make up the intestinal environment. there is. Based on this, Dr. Park is also developing foods to efficiently regulate the intestinal environment and developing health functional foods related to body fat reduction, liver health, and immunity enhancement. He is also working to ensure that research results reach the public through collaborations with various food companies. 

<Lecture>

The FMT of human stool into C57BL/6 mice led to dramatic variations in the spatial working memory of these mice. This indicates a critical role of the gut microbiome in memory functions in mice. Metagenomic analysis of the gastrointestinal microbiome, as opposed to the fecal microbiome, in the mice revealed a positive correlation between the enrichment of Akkermansia muciniphila and enhanced spatial working memory. Additionally, we designed a new gut microbiome analysis in which the changes in motor function of the same individual mice were measured before and after fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to evaluate only the effect of the gut microbiome on muscle strength. Interestingly, L. johnsonii and L. reuteri have been shown to improve muscle strength in mice by up-regulating the expression of follistatin (FST) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1), proteins involved in muscle growth.  

<Speaker>

Principal researcher Dr. Chung is a researcher who has been researching microbiome for more than 10 years. She is an expert in building a microbiome efficacy evaluation system using animals and has published 15 representative papers with an Impact Factor of 4 or higher as the main author over the past 4 years, and has recently published 30 representative papers as the lead author, contributing to microbiome research. We are building an effectiveness evaluation system based on know-how related to animal testing. In particular, the Korea Basic Science Institute, where I belong, has already established the best research infrastructure in Korea for evaluation of effectiveness through biological image analysis from nano to object images, and also has state-of-the-art laboratory animal growth facilities that meet international environmental standards. As a result of utilizing this research infrastructure, we have a GM bank ( https://www.gmbank.org/) of over 2,199 species of intestinal microorganisms, and we also have an optimal intestinal microorganism medium (JM medium) that enables the cultivation of unculture microorganisms.