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. A source close to the matter reached out toThe Citizenhours 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 qualitybefore 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. She added that the Barrs’ management told the staff that the inspections revealed “critical findings” and that they are looking at being shut down.
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“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.
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