No fewer than 53 Indian Pharmaceutical companies and some notable healthcare professionals showed up at the colourful 3rd International Exhibition for Pharma & Healthcare (IPHEX Africa).
The two-day event, organised under the aegis of Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) in conjunction with Indian High Commission, Indian Pharma Manufacturers Importers of Nigeria (IPMIN) and Association of Pharma Importers in Nigeria (APIN), held recently at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
On display were at the Expo Centre was an array of drugs, nutraceuticals, pharmaceutical formulations, APIs, veterinary drugs, healthcare products as well as some Over-The-Counter (OTC) and prescription-based medicines.
Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, director general, National Agency for Food Drug and Administration Control (NAFDAC) applauded the organisation of the event, saying that it was quite encouraging.
When quizzed by journalists on what NAFDAC is doing to curb continual influx of counterfeit drugs from foreign countries like India, she said that the solution lies in further strengthening of the bilateral arrangement between Nigeria and Indian pharma regulatory bodies.
“This is the bulk of what we discussed today. You know they have their own regulatory bodies that also track and identify people involved in such scheme just as we have same here in Nigeria. This is the more reason we need to work together,” she said.
On complaints that manufacturers and other pharma entrepreneurs are increasingly finding NAFDAC registration frustrating owing to delay, Adeyeye debunked the claim saying that people still have the old picture of the regulatory body in mind.
“NAFDAC has changed now. It is not what many people used to think. Today, no paper or file is delayed anymore. Processing of those papers you mentioned should not take more than 120 days at most,” she stressed.
In the same vein, Udaya Bhaskar, director general, Pharmexcil announced that he was happy with level of support received so far from the Nigerian government and various pharma associations since inception of the IPHEX Africa Expo in the country.
“It has not only improved the relationship between both countries but also enabled a lot of pharmaceutical and other healthcare companies to grow and have direct access to government recognised pharma companies from India,” he said.
Among notable health professionals who graced the events were Pharm. Lolu Ojo, former chairman, Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (NAIP); Pharm. Ade Popoola, managing director, Reals Pharma; Pharm. Samuel Adekola, chairman, Association of Community Association of Nigeria (ACPN); Pharm. Ernest Okafor, managing director, Nemitt Pharma; Peter Esele, managing director, Pemason Pharma; Aakash Kotari, managing director, Sagar Vitaceuticals; Jaiprakash Pande, director of operations, Africure Pharmaceuticals Limited and Maheesh Vaswani, SK Medicines Limited.
.){kind=link}