Barbados Secured “Game-Changer” Pharmaceutical Deal With Rwanda

• Barbados secured a major “game-changer” contract with the Government of Rwanda to establish a new pharmaceutical industry, the first in the Caribbean.
• “Perhaps the biggest game changer since we have come to the office is about to unfold, and we have been working on it very quietly for the last six months or so, and that is addressing the issue of pharmaceutical equity and creating a platform for jobs, investment and earnings for a pharmaceutical industry in Barbados for the first time,” said Mottley.
• The Government of Rwanda, the European Union, the European Investment Bank, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Susan Buffett Foundation had already committed to assisting Barbados in establishing the industry.
• The Prime Minister noted that “This has been a major achievement for a small state like Barbados to be able to locate itself centre of the Americas as a location for the development of a pharmaceutical industry.”
• The current deal is expected to provide over 4,000 jobs for Barbadians within the next five years, with a focus on the development of cancer treatment pharmaceuticals, vaccinations, and drugs for women’s reproductive health care difficulties.

(Source: Caribbean News Now)