Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°69%
CTCT21°90%
PretoriaPTA33°75%
DurbanDBN30°20°

Court sets aside R12.63bn in HIV drug contracts

Published

The Pretoria high court found that Cipla was unfairly excluded from the health department's R15.5bn Aids drug tender. It ordered the department to reconsider eligible bidders within 120 days. The judgment was delivered on 20 October.

Acting judge Graham Girdwood set aside two TLD HIV drug contracts. He ordered the department to redo the awards. The setting aside is suspended for 90 days after the department finalises the revised award.

The court found the department's decision to exclude Cipla from negotiations was arbitrary and irrational. Cipla was shut out because its price was more than 10% above the highest scoring bidder, and that rule had not been disclosed. The court also found that Innovata and Viatris should have been disqualified, because they did not hold valid local manufacturing licences when the bid window closed.

The court dismissed the application by Hetero SA. The health department alleged that Hetero colluded on price with another bidder, Q-Sol.

Department spokesperson Foster Mohale said the department is assessing whether the timeframes in the order are feasible. He said the department will consider its next steps after its legal consultations.

Cipla Africa CEO Paul Miller welcomed the provision for continuity of supply. Pharmaceuticals Made in SA (Pharmisa) said the judgment vindicated many of its concerns about the department's procurement processes.

Key facts

Who
Graham Girdwood (Acting judge, high court in Pretoria); Cipla Medpro (pharmaceutical manufacturer that challenged the tender and was found unfairly…); Hetero SA (pharmaceutical manufacturer whose application was dismissed); Viatris (pharmaceutical manufacturer whose contract share was ruled invalid)
What
Acting judge Graham Girdwood set aside two TLD HIV drug contracts worth a combined R12.63bn, found Cipla was unfairly excluded, and ordered the department to redo the awards, with the setting aside suspended for 90 days after the revised award is finalised.
When
20 October 2026
Where
Pretoria, South Africa
Status
Reported

Related stories

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

  1. BOSA's Solomons flags one-ballot problem at Cape Town voting stations
  2. Mashatile urges new councillors to put voters first
  3. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

  1. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
  2. Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
  3. Ramaphosa wants US trade deal after AGOA suspension

See every update

AI Cooling

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

  1. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations
  2. CrowdStrike to buy two AI security startups
  3. Google lets schools turn off AI tools but limits Search

See every update