Fidson Healthcare Plc has collaborated with three Chinese companies, Jiangsu Aidea Pharma, Nanjing PharmaBlock, and the China-Africa Development Fund, to improve access to HIV drugs throughout Africa.
With this partnership, the four companies have decided to actively take advantage of their unique strengths to launch a new joint venture pharmaceutical plant project in Nigeria.
The Memorandum of Cooperation was signed during a high-level meeting in Beijing, China, by Dr Fidelis Ayebae, the managing director of Fidson Healthcare Plc, and two other delegates from Nigeria, namely, Dr Babatunde Ipaye and Mr Oshoke Ayebae.
In a statement, Ayebae emphasised that the collaboration will focus on establishing a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Nigeria.
He highlighted that “This joint venture is a critical step toward Africa’s healthcare self-reliance, particularly in the fight against HIV. The combined expertise of all partners will strengthen our capacity to provide affordable HIV treatments, significantly improving access for over 1.9 million Nigerians living with the virus.
“All parties agreed to share information and resources, jointly explore investment opportunities in the pharmaceutical markets of West African countries, and implement investment cooperation at the project level,” he said.
According to the statement, this partnership comes after prior meetings, including a visit by Dr Heliang Fu, chairman of Jiangsu Aidea Pharma to Nigeria, where he toured the Lekki Free Trade Zone, the proposed site for the new pharmaceutical facility.
Dr Fu said the plant is poised to revolutionise Africa’s pharmaceutical landscape, with its strategic location facilitating economic growth and healthcare improvement.
The Fidson CEO explained that the partnership between Fidson and the Chinese firms is a sterling example of international cooperation to tackle pressing medical challenges.
“This collaboration marks an important step for Chinese Pharma players in their commitment to global medical cooperation.
“We eagerly look forward to this collaboration and believe that the complementary strengths of all parties will inject new vitality into the healthcare delivery sector in Africa, particularly addressing the medical needs of over 1.9 million HIV-infected individuals in Nigeria, a focus of Aidea Pharma,” he said.
