By Steve Agbota
Foremost pharmaceutical companies, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc and Fidson Healthcare Plc have commenced the local production of healthcare products from their first contract manufacturing partnership signed in 2019.
In 2019, Fidson, a pharmaceutical manufacturing company in Nigeria, signed a Contract Manufacturing Agreement to manufacture five products for GSK Consumer Nigeria Plc. The production from this partnership, which officially commenced on December 16, 2021, aimed at enabling the continuous improvement of local manufacturing capability in the Nigerian pharmaceutical industry through technology transfer.
This partnership has been hailed as one of the largest technology transfers in the Nigerian pharmaceutical industry that is in line with global standards and also enables export opportunities for locally made pharmaceutical products within the AFCTA.
At the production commencement ceremony in Lagos, the Managing Director of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria, Kunle Oyelana, explained the rationale behind the partnership.
“When we decided at GSK to evolve our operating model to a point where we go into partnering with local manufacturers to produce some of our products, it was a significant endeavour. We took that decision in the interest of the country, particularly the economy and the patients in Nigeria.”