Chinese drugmaker Beijing Holley-Cotec Pharmaceuticals has opened a drug-distribution center in Nairobi, Kenya, the company reported. The new facility will provide medication -- with a particular focus on antimalarial drug development -- for Africa's eastern and central regions.

"We have initiated this project as a result of the prevalence of malaria in Africa," said HolleyPharm President Lu Jintao. "We want to achieve in Africa what we have done in [China], where the number of malaria cases has dropped drastically after antimalarial drugs were made more affordable to ordinary citizens."

Holley-Cotec manufactures, markets and distributes Cotecxin, which has been used for decades as a single dose to fight malaria in the world's most populated country. The company also recently introduced Duo-Cotecxin, an antimalarial combination treatment.