The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control says the exit of GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical Company from Nigeria is not responsible for the increase in the prices of drugs in the country.
Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, said this on Friday in Lagos, against the backdrop of speculations that the exit of GSK had affected the prices of drugs in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that GSK, a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, in August, announced plans to shut down its operations in the country.
The company had operated for 51 years in Nigeria, haven been incorporated in June 1971 and commenced business the following year.
Adeyeye said, “The first reason for the increment in the prices of drugs is that the value of the naira has depreciated.
“Before the planned exit of GSK from the country, prices of commodities general had gone up and some of the products GSK produced had decreased.
“From the regulatory perspective, we encourage local manufacturing and GSK have collaborated with local manufacturers. So it is not like they import everything.
“The issue of foreign exchange is huge for some of the multinational companies. They generate funds and it became difficult to repatriate the money back to their parent company where other developments will take place.”
(NAN)
