Quality Chemical Industries Limited (Qcil), formerly Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Limited (CiplaQCIL) is a pharmaceutical manufacturing company, established in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

by Ugandans in 2005. The company is committed to advancing wellness and is the largest producer of World Health Organization (WHO) pre-qualified HIV/AIDS and Malaria treatments in the region. According to a 2007 published report, Qcil was the only company in Africa to manufacture triple-combination

antiretroviral The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of mu ...

(ARV) drugs. Qcil currently produces TLD (a combination of tenofovir, lamivudine and dolutegravir), the latest first-line treatment used to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS. Qcil also manufactures antimalarials (ACTs), including Lumartem, containing

artemisinin Artemisinin () and its semisynthetic derivatives are a group of drugs used in the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum''. It was discovered in 1972 by Tu Youyou, who shared the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for he ...

and

lumefantrine Lumefantrine (or benflumetol) is an antimalarial drug. It is only used in combination with artemether. The term "co-artemether" is sometimes used to describe this combination. Lumefantrine has a much longer half-life compared to artemether (3- ...

, and the

Hepatitis B Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the '' hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection. Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. ...

generic medicines Texavir and Zentair. The company also manufactures antibacterials, anti-hypertensives, vasodilators, anti-emetics, antibiotics and antidiabetics. Qcil’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities are GLP and cGMP-compliant, adhering to both national and international standards. The company has the following ISO certifications: 9001:2015, 14001:2015, and 45001:2018.

Location

Qcil's pharmaceutical manufacturing plant is located in

Luzira Luzira is a suburb of Kampala, the capital of Uganda. It is best known for the country's main prison, Luzira Maximum Security Prison, which has seen significant redevelopment thanks to the work of African Prisons Project, a charity based in the ...

, an industrial area in

Nakawa Division Nakawa Division is one of the five administrative divisions of the city of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda. The town of Nakawa is the site of the division headquarters. Location Nakawa Division lies in the eastern part of the city ...

in south-eastern

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

. The plant is approximately , by road, south-east of Kampala's central business district. The coordinates of the plant are 0°18'17.0"N, 32°38'22.0"E (Latitude:0.304723; Longitude:32.639436).

Overview

As of 31 March 2024, the company's total assets were valued at USh232.0 billion (US$60.1 million), with associated EBITDA USh188.199 billion USh53.7 billion (US$14.4 million).

History

In 2005, Quality Chemical Industries Limited was incorporated as a joint venture between, inter alia, Messrs. Emmanuel Katongole, Frederick Mutebi Kitaka and George Baguma (the Sponsors) and

Cipla Cipla Limited is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Mumbai. Cipla primarily focuses on developing medication to treat respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, diabetes, depression, paediatric and var ...

Limited (Cipla). The factory was commissioned in 2007. In 2010, the company became the first WHO-prequalified facility in the region. Relevant products, such as ARVs and ACTs were also WHO-prequalified. In the same year, the company became the first in Africa to supply Global Fund with ACTs. In 2014, Cipla acquired control of the company, and the company changed its name to Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Limited (CiplaQCIL). In 2016, the company was converted to a public company. Two years later, in 2018, the company listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange, offering shares to individual and institutional investors in an Initial Public Offering (IPO). In 2019, the company commissioned a new warehouse with a 5,000-pallet capacity. This was followed by the commissioning of a new laboratory in 2020. In November 2023, Africa Capitalworks (ACW) acquired Cipla's 51.18% interest in the issued ordinary shares of the company. On 15 February 2024, the company changed its name to Quality Chemical Industries Limited (Qcil). As of March 2024, with a production capacity of approximately 1.2 billion pills per year, Qcil was trading with 13 African countries and had regulatory approval in 31 African countries. Qcil announced record earnings and dividends in 2024. As of 31 March 2024, the shareholding in the business was as follows:

Governance

Emmanuel Katongole is the Chairman of QCIL. He succeeded the late

Francis Kitaka Francis Xavier Kitaka (1 January 1935 – 12 September 2020) was a Ugandan biochemist, veterinarian, entrepreneur and industrialist. He is the former chairman of Cipla Quality Chemical Industries Limited (CIPLAQCIL), located in Luzira, a suburb ...

(1925 - 2021), one of the founding members and the first

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

trained in

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

. Katongole was previously the Managing Director of CiplaQCIL. The Chief Executive Officer of QCIL is Ajay Kumar Pal.

Developments

As of October 2024, as reported by the

Daily Monitor The ''Daily Monitor'' is an independent daily newspaper in Uganda. Launched in 1992 as ''The Monitor'', it established itself as a leading voice critical of the government and is one of the two largest national newspapers, alongside the state-ow ...

, QCIL was contemplating building a new US$50 million production line to manufacture anti-TB and anti-cancer medication. Potential willing funders include

Standard Chartered Bank Standard Chartered PLC is a British multinational bank with operations in wealth management, Wholesale banking, corporate and investment banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retai ...

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian United States foreign aid, foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 19 ...

and the

government of Italy The government of Italy is that of a democratic republic, established by the Italian constitution in 1948. It consists of Legislature, legislative, Executive (government), executive, and Judiciary, judicial subdivisions, as well as of a head of ...

References

External links

Qcil To Manufacture Special ARVs

Museveni Opens AIDS Drugs Factory

Notification of Change of Name

Kumar: Pharmaceuticals in Uganda alive, kicking
{{coord, 00, 18, 17, N, 32, 38, 22, E, display=title Pharmaceutical companies of Uganda Manufacturing companies of Uganda Luzira Nakawa Division Pharmaceutical companies established in 2005 2005 establishments in Uganda Companies based in Kampala Ugandan brands