President Yoweri Museveni will commission a $50 million cassava starch facility in Namasagali that marks the first phase of Dei Biopharma's effort to reduce Uganda's reliance on imported pharmaceutical ingredients. The plant, which will process approximately 500 metric tons of cassava daily from more than 3,000 registered farmers across Busoga, Teso, Lango and Bukedi, aims to produce glucose, maltose, fructose and pharmaceutical-grade starch for export once it secures FDA certification. Company founder Matthias Magoola said nearly all starch and excipients used in tablet and capsule manufacturing are currently imported, making local production costly and uncompetitive.
The facility sits within a 5,000-acre agro-industrial zone that includes an organic fertilizer factory and a Foot and Mouth Disease vaccine plant capable of producing 100 million doses annually. Dei Biopharma also plans to establish a 1,000-bed hospital dedicated to sickle cell disease, cancer and rare genetic conditions, aiming to reduce treatment costs by 99 percent through local production of gene therapies under TRIPS flexibilities for least developed countries.
The facility sits within a 5,000-acre agro-industrial zone that includes an organic fertilizer factory and a Foot and Mouth Disease vaccine plant capable of producing 100 million doses annually. Dei Biopharma also plans to establish a 1,000-bed hospital dedicated to sickle cell disease, cancer and rare genetic conditions, aiming to reduce treatment costs by 99 percent through local production of gene therapies under TRIPS flexibilities for least developed countries.
