The Executive Secretary of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN), Pharm. Frank Mounemeh, has identified policy inconsistency and poor implementation as the biggest challenges confronting pharmaceutical manufacturing in Nigeria.
Mounemeh said that while the Federal Government had introduced several policies aimed at strengthening local pharmaceutical production, inconsistencies in implementation are undermining their intended benefits and increasing the cost of medicines. He made this known in an exclusive interview with Pharmanews ahead of the Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo, where he outlined the industry’s priorities, challenges and prospects for strengthening medicine security in Nigeria.
According to him, medicine security requires Nigeria to take ownership of the entire pharmaceutical value chain, including research and development, supply chain, regulation and end-to-end manufacturing, from active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to finished pharmaceutical products. “Until we are in charge of, or contribute sufficiently to, the entire value chain of the life science products, pharmaceuticals and consumables we use, access to safe, quality and affordable medicines will continue to be a mirage,” he said.
Mounemeh explained that medicine security is critical to achieving universal health coverage, health equity and inclusivity, particularly in a country where many citizens continue to bear substantial out-of-pocket healthcare expenses. He said Nigeria had the potential to become a major pharmaceutical manufacturing hub in Africa, stressing that strengthening local production would not only improve access to medicines but also contribute to regional economic development.
According to him, the Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo is designed to draw the attention of policymakers, investors and other stakeholders to the strategic role of local pharmaceutical manufacturers in achieving medicine security. He disclosed that the Expo is expected to attract close to 200 companies and between 3,000 and 4,000 participants and visitors from Nigeria, Asia, India, China, Europe and neighbouring African countries.
Mounemeh explained that international exhibitors would primarily showcase inputs required for pharmaceutical manufacturing rather than finished pharmaceutical products. “These are things that support the industry to achieve medicine security and self-sufficiency for Nigeria,” he said, listing machinery, active pharmaceutical ingredients, packaging materials, clean rooms, HVAC systems and laboratory equipment among the expected exhibits.
He said this year’s expo would focus strongly on regional manufacturing and advancing Africa’s pharmaceutical and life sciences sovereignty through localisation. He noted that regional manufacturing could not be achieved without first strengthening local manufacturing capacity.
“We want to play local but become stronger at the regional and African levels. How do we, as a group and as a country, galvanise our capacity and capability to close the medicine access gap in Africa?” he asked. He also identified the African Continental Free Trade Area as an important opportunity for Nigeria to expand its pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity and supply other African markets.
The PMG-MAN executive secretary said the Nigerian pharmaceutical industry was already transitioning towards greater self-sufficiency, with local manufacturers increasingly producing medicines and pharmaceutical products that were previously imported. He cited the emergence of beta-lactam manufacturing facilities as an example of how local manufacturers were responding to gaps created by the exit of some multinational pharmaceutical companies from Nigeria.
According to him, the exit of some multinationals created opportunities for local manufacturers to fill market gaps and produce essential medicines locally. Mounemeh also commended the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for implementing the 5+5 policy, which he said had encouraged companies with market authorisations to establish manufacturing facilities in Nigeria or to explore contract manufacturing arrangements with local companies. “Policy is fundamental. With the right policy, many other things will fall into place,” he said.
However, he expressed concern about inconsistencies in the implementation of government policies, particularly those relating to pharmaceutical imports, customs processes and the presidential executive order introduced to support local manufacturing. According to him, manufacturers have experienced difficulties arising from changes in trade platforms, including the transition from the B’Odogwu platform to the National Single Window platform.
He said such inconsistencies sometimes resulted in manufacturers paying charges they were not supposed to pay, thereby increasing production costs. He also identified port congestion and delays in clearing imported pharmaceutical inputs as major challenges facing manufacturers. He explained that delays in clearing raw materials could disrupt production cycles, increase operational costs and ultimately result in higher medicine prices. He further identified energy costs as a major burden on local pharmaceutical manufacturers.
According to him, energy accounts for as much as 40 per cent of production costs for some manufacturers, compared with significantly lower costs in countries such as India and China. “All these costs eventually become part of the cost of the product leaving the factory. And, ultimately, somebody has to pay for those costs. That person is the patient,” he said.
Mounemeh therefore called for greater policy consistency and faithful implementation, stressing that good policies would have little impact if their execution was ineffective. “A policy can be well thought out and beautifully written in black and white, but if its execution is flawed, the desired outcome will not be achieved,” he said.
He called for the extension of the presidential executive order by another two years to allow the policy and its implementation mechanisms to stabilise. He said the government needed to focus not only on access to finance but also on creating a predictable policy environment in which manufacturers could plan investments and production with confidence. He said the Expo would also provide opportunities for young Nigerians and pharmacists to explore careers and investments in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
According to him, many pharmacists remain concentrated in community and hospital practice, while the manufacturing sector offers significant opportunities in areas such as supply chain management, quality assurance, quality control, regulatory affairs, market access, production and engineering. He said the Expo would feature strategic sessions involving manufacturers, regulators, investors, technical experts and other stakeholders, as well as discussions on emerging opportunities such as contract research organisations and bioequivalence studies.
He described the Expo as a comprehensive platform for examining Nigeria’s pharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem from end to end, with a strong focus on Africa. He said the ultimate objective was to strengthen Nigeria’s manufacturing capacity, improve access to quality and affordable medicines and position the country as a leading force in Africa’s drive towards medicine security and pharmaceutical sovereignty.
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