Christopher Nebe, chief executive officer, Phamatex Group, has lamented on the high preference of imported drugs over locally manufactured ones by Nigerians to meet their health needs.
Nebe disclosed this recently during a facility tour of Pharmatex Group premises.
“Many Nigerians do not appreciate what the local manufacturers of drugs are doing; they do not know that drugs made in the country are better than the imported ones,” he said.
He urged the government at all levels to encourage local drug manufacturers in the area of funding and provision of critical infrastructures to drive down production cost to enable local manufacturers compete.
Phamatex Group the sole distributor of Hovid products in Nigeria, a multi-billion naira ultra-modern pharmaceutical factory to increase local manufactured drugs.
Phamatex Industries which has been in existence for about seven years is ready to meet the challenges of increased product demand by investment and use of automated packaging lines, thus improving output and efficiency.
Also speaking during the tour Ezekiel Ibidapo, a Pharmacist at Pharmatex Industries warned Nigerians against uncontrolled use of drugs, saying it could result in the issue of drug resistance.
He advised Nigerians to always get a correct prescription from a qualified doctor before going to a pharmacy to buy.
“One of the problems we have in Nigeria, which leads to drug resistance is the uncontrolled use of drugs. Some people go to the pharmacy to buy drugs based on other people’s experience and by the time they use it they may experience resistance,” Ibidapo said.
“Nigerians must cultivate the habit of storing drugs in a cool environment,” he advised.
ANTHONIA OBOKOH
