By Zika Bobby
To support Africa’s goal of strengthening its production of medicines and reducing its reliance on imports, IFC and Nigeria’s Fidson Healthcare Plc have partnered to develop Nigeria’s capacity to produce Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs). Through the partnership, IFC and Fidson will conduct a feasibility study to assess the level of investment, skills, and regulatory protocols required to develop Nigeria’s manufacturing capabilities for APIs, which are integral to the production of pharmaceuticals.
The results of the feasibility study will inform the strategic and operational direction that Fidson will take as it pursues its longer-term goal of becoming an end-to-end pharmaceutical producer, that produces APIs for use in its own production process, as well as being a supplier to other pharma-companies. Africa lags behind other parts of the world in pharmaceutical ingredient production, leaving it dependent on imports for about 70 per cent of the medicines it needs. By contrast, in China and India, drug imports average only about 5 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.
“Fidson sees a strong case for expanding into API production in order to increase availability of pharmaceuticals and close the gaps caused by supply chain disruption, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, across Western Africa and the African continent at large,” said Dr Fidelis Akhagboso Ayebae, Chief Executive Officer of Fidson Healthcare Plc.
“Our history of commitment to quality as well as our large, finished product footprint presents an ideal fit for backward integration. The project will be transformational and will ultimately result in the stable supply of high-quality, affordable APIs for critical product segments,” he added
Makhtar Diop, IFC’s Managing Director, said Nigeria and much of the rest of sub-Saharan Africa are heavily reliant on imported pharmaceuticals, but the region has untapped potential to become a hub for pharmaceutical production.
“Now is the time to step up investment and efforts to create an enabling environment for Africa’s pharmaceutical manufacturing development so the continent can better respond to its health needs,” he said.