Is Barrs’ medication safe? Company faced regulatory scrutiny before ARV tender

After Barrs Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Avacare Health, received a tender, it turns out the company was not only under mounting financial pressure but also facing regulatory scrutiny, a combination that allegedly led to the company’s shutdown late last year.

Barrs is one of 11 companies awarded a national tender to supply HIV medication, known as antiretrovirals (ARVs), across South Africa, a critical contract that helps ensure patients continue to receive life-saving treatment.

However, Barrs and its sister company, Innovata Pharmaceuticals, both awarded the same tender registered for business rescue on 9 December 2025, just days after the contract began on 1 December 2025.

This raises questions about how the Department of Health awarded the tender if Barrs was already financially distressed and under regulatory scrutiny as early as June 2025.

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Are Barrs products safe to consume?

A source close to the matter reached out to The Citizen hours after the article “Health dept denies ARV shortage despite tendered companies entering business rescue days later” was published.

She alleged trouble for Barrs started around June 2025, when officials from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) paid a visit to the company for an audit inspection.

The health regulatory authority is a national body that regulates medicines and health products to ensure they are safe, effective, and of good quality before and after they reach the public.

An audit inspection is done to ensure companies comply with licensing, safety, and quality standards, protecting the public by making sure health products are properly made, stored, and distributed.

Shut down of Barrs?

She added that the Barrs’ management told the staff that the inspections revealed “critical findings” and that they are looking at being shut down.

“Management told staff it does not look good, there was alot of major and critical findings,” she alleged. “Barrs then had to wait for an Enforcement Letter, which the staff never read or saw. So basically, SAHPRA seized all production and manufacturing.”

SAHPRA can close or halt a company’s operations if it believes public health is at risk or that the law is being broken. This can include operating without proper licences, producing unsafe or poor-quality products, or other reasons.

The health agency will then issue a compliance notice, suspension of licences, or seizure of products rather than physically shutting doors, unless the risk is urgent and severe. It is currently unclear what happened at Barrs.

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Retrenchments, skeleton staff, no salaries

The source further alleged that staff were told to stop reporting for duty on 30 September 2025, and that the last salary was received on 25 September 2025. However, the company has since hired skeleton staff.

“Staff were informed that SAHPRA had closed the company and were instructed not to report for duty, after which salaries stopped without formal written notice or clarity,” she said.

“During this period, some employees were retrenched while others felt forced to resign due to the lack of income and uncertainty.

“As a result, many staff members are now unable to meet bond repayments, loan obligations, vehicle payments, and basic household expenses. The financial and emotional impact on families has been severe.”

No communication at all

She added that to date, staff have not received clear communication confirming whether SAHPRA formally ordered a shutdown, including how unpaid wages and staff claims will be handled and the legality of stopping work without pay.

The Citizen contacted SAHPRA to clarify their findings on Barrs’ operations and whether the company was ordered to shut down. A comment will be published once received.

The publication also reached out to the Department of Health to determine whether it was aware of the challenges at Barrs before awarding the tender. A comment will be published once received.

However, Business Day reported the Department of Health was unaware that the companies were facing financial difficulties and had entered business rescue.

No retrenchments since 9 December

The Department of Health and Barrs have since reached an agreement that the pharmaceutical company will supply an alternative product until the end of March 2026. The product in question is morphine, as Barrs is the state’s sole supplier of the product, and currently, the department is facing outstanding back orders of it.

Barry Claude Urba, senior practitioner for Barrs’, told The Citizen this week that he does not entertain requests from journalists, but he can confirm that since he been “in charge” of the company, there have not been retrenchments. He did not reply to the rest of the publication’s questions.

“I generally do not entertain requests from journalists as they tend to cherry-pick what suits their purpose from your answers and are only after sensationalising the story in order to keep their viewership numbers up,” he said.

“We are busy preparing for the S151 meeting which takes place tomorrow (on Tuesday) where the business rescue plan will be put to the vote by the creditors.

“Since the business went into business rescue and I have been in charge of the company, no staff have been retrenched. If the plan is approved, then it will be up to the new owner as to what they will do with the staff going forward.”

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