Minister of State for Health, Dr Tunji Alausa, has said that with the ability of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, NIPRD, the country’s pharmaceutical gap should be bridged.
He stated this on Friday in Abuja when he made a working visit to the institute, saying that with NIPRD, the nation should not be battling counterfeit drugs.
Alausa said he was happy with the institute, after seeing what it could develop and produce.
He added that “the institute just needs more clinical trials to get its products to the public and to unlock the value chain for people to begin to gain jobs.
“I am very impressed with the portfolio product and I have been working with the institute to see how we can quickly get some of these into clinical trials and then some of them into the market.”
The minister also appealed to drug counterfeiters to stop the act, saying “there are lots of legitimate businesses that can be done in this country. We have a population of 220 million people and that’s a big market.
“People can do a lot of legal things instead of bringing counterfeit drugs into the country.”
On the issue of budgetary allocation to the institute, the minister reiterated the President’s commitment to funding healthcare delivery in the country.
