President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Sam Ohuabunwa has urged Nigerian government to put in place policies that will discourage drug importation and encourage local pharmaceutical production in the country.
Speaking during a session at the ongoing 79th FIP World Congress holding in Abu Dhabi, UAE , Tuesday, Ohuabunwa stated that it has become necessary for Nigeria to have high tariffs on products that the country have adequate local capacity to produce, adding that those who want to sell such products should come to Nigeria to manufacture them.
The PSN president who spoke on the topic ‘Initiative to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients and local production of other raw material: achieving self sufficiency in meeting medicine needs in Nigeria’ noted that the lack of rigorous enforcement of policy on intellectual property rights in Nigeria is not encouraging to local manufacturers, as it discourages pharmaceutical companies that want to conduct clinical trials in the country.
Ohuabunwa further said that a pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity utilisation study done by NAFDAC has revealed high levels of under-utilisation, adding that Nigerian pharmaceutical manufacturing companies can, to a large extent, manufacture what the country needs locally.
The PSN, he said, in its quest to drive local production of medicines in Nigeria set up a research, documentation and industrial liaison committee mandated to among other things devise a plan that will lead to API production in Nigeria; work out a plan for local production of raw materials such as pharmaceutical grade starch and coming up with a business plan for the production of cellulose, gum and kaolin to attract investors.
He stated that the consensus by stakeholders is that locally produced drugs should be at least 50 percent of total essential drugs consumed in Nigeria by 2020, adding that the focus will be on getting about 20 pharmaceutical manufacturing companies up to world class standard.
