Sub-Saharan Africa holds significant potential for clinical trials, with Kenya growing in status as a key logistics location to unlock major opportunities, reach more patients, and develop new treatments.
The whole of Africa has an estimated 25% of the global disease burden and contains 19% of the world’s population, according to World Population Review.
Yet at present, clinical trial activity in sub-Saharan Africa is relatively modest compared with other regions around the world. Between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2025, GlobalData recorded the start of 1,358 clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa. This is despite sub-Saharan Africa having an estimated population of 1.3 billion people. For context, the US, as the world’s biggest pharma market, saw the start of 11,356 trials in the same period from a population of approximately 349 million.
This illustrates the scale of the opportunity to expand clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa, which possesses a large and diverse population with a largely unsaturated patient pool.
One area where sub-Saharan Africa can lead in clinical trials is in infectious diseases and there are already signs of this. Between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2025, GlobalData recorded the start of 599 trials in sub-Saharan Africa for infectious diseases, accounting for 44.1% of all clinical trials. This percentage far exceeded the proportion taking place in the US, with 977 trials or 8.6%.
How clinical logistics is developing in Kenya
The Kenyan Government is focusing on accelerating the expansion of domestic pharma manufacturing to reduce the dependence on international suppliers. Kenya’s Government is also exploring life sciences investments. For example, a potential project being considered is a $217m Life Sciences Park at Konza that would cover 200 acres.
Proof of Kenya’s growth in clinical trials is that there are now more starting per year than there were pre-pandemic. In 2019, GlobalData recorded the start of 27 trials. By 2025, this figure had risen to 31. Multinational trials are an important area for Kenya and consistently make up the majority of studies starting each year. For example, in 2019, there were 17 multinational trials, compared with ten single-country studies. Of the 31 trials that started in 2025, 20 were multinational trials compared with 11 single-country studies.
Not only is Kenya strategically positioned geographically in sub-Saharan Africa to serve as a clinical logistics hub, but it also has the necessary transport infrastructure such as four international airports, an extensive road network, and railways that connect ports with the capital city of Nairobi.
Furthermore, healthcare regulations are developing in line with international standards. All drug products must be approved by a committee from the Kenya Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB), with registration requirements introduced in 1982. While largely straightforward, the introduction of the Common Technical Document (CTD) in 2010 by the PPB has made the process more stringent.
Pharmacovigilance in the country is managed by the Kenya Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB), which conducts inspections of production sites to ensure compliance with good manufacturing practice (GMP), with drug sample analyses conducted by the National Quality Control Laboratory.
Kenya’s Department of Pharmacovigilance (DoP) is a relatively recent creation, set up in 2004 to ensure that all pharmaceutical products in Kenya meet safety and efficacy requirements. Other duties of the DoP include the detection, reporting, and monitoring of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), as well as educating patients and health workers.
A state-of-the-art bonded warehouse in Nairobi, Kenya
Oximio has strategically appointed Kenya as the main base of its operations in sub-Saharan Africa. A global specialist in clinical supply chain logistics, Oximio has a bonded warehouse in Nairobi, which serves as its distribution hub for all multi-country studies taking place in sub-Saharan Africa.
Oximio also has a storage and distribution facility in South Africa to serve the South African clinical trial and related services market.
Having a world-class bonded warehouse facility in Kenya enables supply chain efficiencies and cost savings in shipping items to and from other locations in sub-Saharan Africa. Crucially, Oximio’s bonded warehouse removes potential customs processing delays by moving imported shipments directly from the airport to the Oximio bonded depot, for customs verification in the requisite temperature-controlled area. This reduces total handling time and ensures shipments are verified quickly, without compromising temperature regimes. Furthermore, the on-site team’s knowledge of realities on the ground provides invaluable insights to ensure that shipments to, from, and through Kenya (transit shipments) arrive on time and in the required conditions.
With temperature storage urgently needed for shipments in the extreme temperatures in Africa, Oximio’s depot in Kenya covers the entire range of solutions for temperature-controlled storage, including ultra-low temperature (ULT), with handling also available for cryogenic shipments. Oximio has adopted a global quality standard across all its depots, which ensures quality and service compliance.
Issues relating to customs charges can delay clinical logistics. Oximio’s bonded terms defer duties on inbound shipments so that they are only payable when goods are released from the depot, enabling optimal client budget management. Furthermore, investigational products (IP) imported into Kenya solely for later re-export are exempt from VAT and import levies.
Another area where Oximio can optimise shipping costs is by consolidating shipments as opposed to shipping multiple times to the same location.
Oximio’s depot offers short and long term bond validity, subject to approval from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
Clinical logistics expertise in Africa
Delays can also occur at airports due to inspections from customs officials, which can compromise the integrity of medical packages due to sudden temperature changes.
A further strength is that Oximio Kenya holds a valid Customs Agent License. This increases the speed of import and export clearances, while also providing the necessary legal assurances and lessening the dependence on third parties to facilitate.
Crucially, Oximio has the required permissions for Importer of Record (IOR) that enable the company to operate logistics services in Kenya. We also offer IOR services for shipments destined for most countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Similarly, Oximio has the capabilities and accreditation to operate as the Exporter of Record to ensure compliance with regulations and documentation for exports.
The Oximio Kenya team has the essential expertise to act as the local technical representative (LTR) for product registration. This service offers manufacturers and clients the opportunity to register their products or devices in Kenya, whether they are for use in a clinical trial or for commercial marketing.
For pharmacovigilance management, Oximio offers services to support compliance with the necessary regulations that apply in certain jurisdictions in sub-Saharan Africa.
This multitude of services and expertise all ensure that the Oximio Kenya facility can provide efficient movement of clinical and pharmaceutical shipments, supporting direct transit processing to the end destination, and ensuring that packages arrive in the optimum conditions wherever and whenever they are needed.
To learn more about Oximio’s services, download the document below.
