Stakeholders in the health sector have called for the need to promote local contract manufacturing in Nigeria as a tool to drive national drug security as well as boost local production of pharmaceuticals.
Speaking during the “Future of Nigeria Pharma” Conference organised by BusinessDay Media Limited in partnership with Niropharm (the Nigerian Representatives of Overseas Pharmaceutical Manufacturers) in Abuja on Tuesday, Femi Soremekun, president of Niropharm noted that the huge cost of setting up factories has continued to challenge the attainment of drug security in Nigeria.
According to him, contract manufacturing would foster the much-needed technology transfer between multinational companies and indigenous manufacturers.
“Contract manufacturing which involves the production of goods by a company, under the label or brand of another company, offers opportunities for capacity, capability building and drug security.
“Though a relatively new concept in Nigeria, contract manufacturing is a huge multi-billion dollar business abroad, whereby manufacturing companies are set up to wholly manufacture,” he said.
Speaking further, Soremekun stressed the need for research-based pharmaceutical importers and local manufacturers to collaborate to ensure up-skilling and transfer of technology.
Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), who delivered the keynote address at the conference, noted that outsourcing in the form of contract manufacturing has now become a significant way of doing business in the pharmaceutical industry.
According to him, with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pharmaceutical sector around the world have begun to seek contract manufacturing as a means of ensuring drug security.
The SGF who was represented by the Deputy Director of political and economic affairs, office of the SGF, Hassan Aminu James, cited a PWC report which states that counterfeit drugs currently account for 17 percent of drugs supplied in Nigeria.
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“This report is not far from the truth as 70 percent of drugs in the country is being imported, this puts the private sector as the main source of medicines (drugs) for many Nigerians as well as the main hub for counterfeit products, therefore, for Nigeria to achieve National drug security and export, the private sector has a pivotal role to play.
“The contract manufacturing model provides an array of services to drug companies including drug development, pre-formulation, the conduct of stability studies, method development, pre-clinical trials as well as documentation of compliance with NAFDAC regulatory requirements,” he said.
The SGF further noted that factors including substandard and falsified medical products; high-level importation of drugs products and raw materials, compromised supply chain integrity; lack of effective and efficient regulation and control due to overlapping functions of regulatory agencies; and insufficient advocacy to the rational use of the drug have continued to threaten drug security in Nigeria.
“Aside from our inability to have a full functioning human vaccine laboratory and production plants, what is presently up and running is an animal vaccine production laboratory.
“This institute makes a number of vaccines for the local market and for export to other countries In the West African sub-region as it produces viral and bacterial vaccines against several diseases of livestock mudding, cattle, sheep, goats and chickens.
“It is my belief that if we can be self-sufficient in animal vaccine production, it can be reciprocated for human vaccine production as we have virologists, molecular biologists and experts in genomics of infectious diseases whose capabilities can be harnessed for immediate impact,” he said.
The Future of Nigeria Pharma Conference brought together senior pharma executives, government officials, and other industry stakeholders where they discussed the dynamics and factors required for the successful implementation of a contract manufacturing policy in the pharmaceutical sector.
In his presentation, the immediate past president of Niropharm, Lakan Asuni disclosed that the contract manufacturing model is aimed at making Nigeria a hub as well as a net exporter of pharmaceutical products.
According to him, the model would help to build the required capacity for products that are not currently being manufactured in Nigeria.
“Benefits of the contract manufacturing model include: ensuring the reduced cost of production, technology transfer, increased drug security,” he said.
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