Positioning Nigeria as Africa’s Pharmaceuticals’ Manufacture Hub

Pharmaceuticals are a big deal across the world and many of the biggest companies in the world are pharmaceutical companies. In the US they are even described aptly as ‘’Big Pharma’’ in conversations that capture the enormous power they wield even in mainstream politics.

Speaking as a young Nigerian Pharmacist, it might sound overtly simplistic to describe the Nigerian pharmaceutical industry as basically importation and distribution of imported pharmaceuticals (that itself is a problem with poor regulation) but that isn’t far from the truth.

In the actual sense some manufacturing does happen but the truth remains that the level of manufacturing remains a far cry from what is possible giving the population, available local raw materials and manpower.

I believe Nigeria has what it takes to be a pharmaceutical manufacturing hub for Africa and in the next few paragraphs I hope to highlight basic policy moves that can lay the foundation for that to happen in the next few years.

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) coming on stream in 2021 further buttresses the need to not sleep on this enormous opportunity especially if as a nation we hope to reap from the benefits of free trade around Africa.

Research

The Chinese gave the world artemisinin and that has been the corner stone of malaria treatment for a couple of years, Africa (Nigeria in particular) can do more with a wide variety of plants and herbs. Sprinkles of research have been done and what remains is more elaborate and clinically oriented tests that can push these remedies to mainstream healthcare as treatment options.

Government must incentivize research while taking the lead themselves starting from the Universities. The link between academic research and the industry needs to be made to ensure that products/knowledge of research find ready application in the drug production processes.

The pharmaceutical manufacturing industry can do a lot more to support research but they need the financial muscle of their European and American counterparts to do so after all It’s no coincidence that African or Nigerian pharma isn’t in the running to provide a vaccine for Covid’19 or any new drugs whatsoever

Raw Materials

The current situation where the little manufacturing that goes on requires mostly imported inputs in form of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipients to go on is definitely not good for the industry. Most of that forex can be kept within the shores of this country if we can research and develop local alternatives that are good substitutes and can be produced to the required grade.

A huge number of petrochemical products are needed for production of certain APIs and as new refineries come on stream an industry that supplies inputs for drug manufacturing could emerge with so many jobs created along the way. The emerging firms will also require some access to capital (that is cheap and patient) to take off and develop capacity to meet demand from local manufacturers.

Infrastructure

Failing infrastructure in terms of roads, rail, electricity, water etc. have been a huge impediment to the manufacturing sector and the pharma industry hasn’t being spared. A quicker fix would be setting up of industrial or more specifically pharmaceutical manufacturing clusters where adequate infrastructure will be provided.

Putting the above in place with better policies can help us push for more big pharma presence especially with the AfCFTA kicking in after all their products are already widely sold here and a 200 million market definitely sounds like good business. Throw in the potential of the African market and we have a superb investment in every right.

Today the economics doesn’t not support local manufacturing and that explains the huge number of imports. Why should I go through complex manufacturing when simply importing is cheaper? This needs to change because huge imports imply that we have exported the jobs we ought to have created for our pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists and pharmacy technologists. As we move to restrict imports, government needs to have provided a good environment that makes local manufacturing a lot more profitable.

Access to Capital

Capital lending to businesses needs to be cheap (low interest rates) and patient (long repayment periods). For an industry that supplies essential products such as medications this is even more important. Better access to capital means existing local pharma manufacturing firms get to expand, invest in better equipment and more effective distribution and even research. It also means new ones emerge to meet the huge gaps in demand for our rapidly growing population and the recently opened African market.

In the long run the healthcare system gains in terms of cheaper essential medicines which translates to more cost-effective healthcare and wider access, not forgetting the huge stimulus it can have on the economy.

The market is huge, the product is essential, jobs will be created, government will rake in taxes, there will be huge incentive for innovation that could lead to introduction of new drugs to the global market.

We can definitely build a pharmaceutical manufacturing hub for Africa here in Nigeria.