Senegal becomes first African country to locally manufacture generic sickle cell treatment

• Senegal is now producing DREPAF, a locally manufactured generic version of hydroxyurea used to manage sickle cell disease.

• The medicine is produced by Teranga Pharma in partnership with Drep.Afrique and received marketing authorisation in Senegal in April 2025.

• DREPAF is intended to make sickle cell treatment more affordable and accessible, with a paediatric formulation also developed for children from nine months.

• DREPAF is not a cure for sickle cell disease; hydroxyurea is an established treatment used to reduce painful crises and other complications.

Senegal has become the first African country to locally manufacture a generic treatment for sickle cell disease, in a development expected to improve access to the medicine for patients across the continent.

The treatment, branded DREPAF, is a generic version of hydroxyurea, an established medicine used to manage sickle cell disease and reduce some of its most serious complications.

The drug is being produced by Senegalese pharmaceutical company Teranga Pharma through a partnership with Drep.Afrique, an organisation focused on improving access to sickle cell treatment in Africa.

DREPAF received marketing authorisation in Senegal in April 2025, while commercial distribution began in early 2026, according to Drep.Afrique. Senegal's Agence de Presse Sénégalaise (APS) has described the development as a major step towards improving access to treatment for people living with the disease.

The significance of DREPAF lies not in the discovery of a new medicine, but in the local production of an affordable generic version of hydroxyurea, which has been used internationally for decades in the management of sickle cell disease.

Hydroxyurea can increase the production of foetal haemoglobin, helping to reduce the sickling of red blood cells. It is used to reduce the frequency of painful crises and other complications associated with sickle cell disease, as well as hospitalisations and the need for blood transfusions.

Sickle cell disease is particularly prevalent in Africa. The continent accounts for the majority of the world's sickle cell disease burden, with millions of people affected and many children dying from complications of the condition.

Yet access to hydroxyurea has remained limited in many African countries, partly because medicines have traditionally been imported.

Mouhamadou Sow, chief executive officer of Teranga Pharma, said the local production of DREPAF was intended to address that gap.

“Africans do not have access to the active ingredient,” Sow said, according to Africanews.

By manufacturing the medicine locally, Teranga Pharma and Drep.Afrique say they hope to make treatment more affordable and accessible to patients who have previously faced difficulties obtaining hydroxyurea.

Drep.Afrique says DREPAF is supplied at cost, without a commercial margin, with the price estimated at about 50 to 100 CFA francs per day, depending on the patient's age and dosage.

The initiative has also focused on children, who account for a significant proportion of severe sickle cell disease cases.

In March 2026, Teranga Pharma announced a paediatric formulation of DREPAF intended to make hydroxyurea easier to administer to young children.

According to APS, the paediatric formulation can be administered from nine months of age. The company said developing a suitable formulation for young children presented technical challenges because of hydroxyurea's properties and its instability in some liquid and effervescent preparations.

The development is particularly significant because sickle cell disease can cause severe complications from childhood, including recurrent pain, anaemia, infections and damage to organs.

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Drep.Afrique has described the project as part of a broader effort to improve access to standard sickle cell treatment in Africa by reducing dependence on imported medicines.

The development could also have implications beyond Senegal if production and distribution are expanded to other African countries.

For now, however, DREPAF's importance is primarily in demonstrating that a treatment for a disease that disproportionately affects Africans can be manufactured locally for African patients, potentially reducing some of the cost and supply challenges associated with imported medicines.

It is important to note that DREPAF does not cure sickle cell disease. It contains hydroxyurea, which is used to manage the condition and reduce complications. Its use should therefore be guided by a qualified healthcare professional.