Bionexx

Medicinal plants have a long history when it comes to treating the world’s most prevalent diseases. They continue to play a pivotal role in human health. So it’s little surprise that one of the most promising cures for malaria today is derived from a natural plant named Artemisinin, the base ingredient for Artemisinin Combined Therapies, or ACTs. ACTs combat malaria using extracts taken from Artemisia Annua (AA), a life-saving herbal pharmaceutical discovered by the Nobel Prize winning chemist Tu Youyou and approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).

As Africa’s only industrial-scale producer of AA, Aqre Group is leading a new generation of natural anti-malarial drugs with approximately 10% of the global market. In Madagascar, we currently collaborate with more than 15,000 smallholders who have the capacity to supply enough AA to cure 140,000 people a day – that’s 10% of Africans suffering from malaria. Thanks to our integrated value chains designed to distribute value to local communities, these 15,000 smallholder farmers earn on average 25% more than other Malagasy farmers in comparable conditions.

As the market for natural alternatives to traditional drugs and cosmetics continues to grow, Aqre is ideally positioned to become a globally leading supplier of AA in Africa and beyond. In the coming three years we will continue to import technology and expertise to our Madagascar facilities. Additionally, to meet demand, we will increase our smallholder network to 20,000 farmers and expand our impact reach to approximately 100,000 smallholder families. In this way, we believe Aqre will continue its double-digit growth in the coming years.

Aqre already grows, purifies and supplies enough AA to cure 140,000 people a day – that’s 10% of Africans suffering from malaria.