The Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (NAIP), say the rise in technological revolution will help the making of drugs better in the future.
However, many industrial pharmacists need a revolution of mind to improve the adaption of industrial pharmacy practice.
The association revealed that despite the contribution of the pharmaceutical industry to Nigeria’s gross domestic product is still lower than 0.25 percent and called for a robust application of digital technologies in the pharmaceutical sector as it is crucial to the advancement of pharmacy practice and the achievement of national medicine security.
The pharmacists made the call on Wednesday during the opening ceremony of the 24th Annual National Conference of NAIP, held in Lagos.
Speaking at the conference themed ‘Technological Revolution – Adaptation in Industrial Pharmacy Practice’, Sola Solarin, president, Industrial Pharmacy Section of the International Pharmaceutical Federation and keynote speaker said that technology remains pivotal to the future of the pharmacy profession while stressing the need for constant conversation between the industry and academia.
According to Solarin, it is obvious that biotechnology and information technology will still shape developments in industrial pharmacy practice for the foreseeable future, and combination products will become more important.
He further said that Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector needs a revolution of mind in the management of industry in the manufacturing, practice, and regulation adding that the contribution of the pharmaceutical industry to Nigeria’s GDP is still lower than 0.25 percent.
“Until we increase the size of the pharmaceutical sector in Nigeria, politicians and the investment community will not take us seriously.”
“The most important revolution we need to take us there is the revolution of the mind. For the CEOs and directors of marketing among us, we must break away from the shackles that make us define Nigeria as our total market. We have the prospect of quadrupling our market by simply defining it as Africa,” he advised.
NAIP is a technical arm of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) and the professional body of all pharmacists in the industrial sector. NAIP has over 280 companies as corporate members.
Also, speaking at the conference Ignatius Anukwu, national chairman of the NAIP, said the need for the pharmaceutical industry to embrace technology cannot be overemphasized, adding that only technological innovation can take the industry to the next level.
Speaking further, Anukwu said the NAIP conference theme was also to set the tone for what the industry needs to do despite “our peculiar national environment,” and was equally aimed at ensuring that the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector was properly positioned to face present and future challenges.
“I urged industrial pharmacists to embrace technological innovation. Captains of the pharmaceutical industry, as well as leaders of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, should begin to encourage young, technologically savvy pharmacists to get involved in the activities of the sector.
“If you are an analogue person in a digital world, you will be left behind by the train of development,” said Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, president of the Nigerian Academy of Pharmacy.
