– Set to Commence Infrastructural Development of Pharmacity
In preparation for the commencement of the physical construction of the much anticipated premier pharmaceutical manufacturing park in Nigeria (Pharmacity), Salt City Pharma Park Development Company Ltd., a special purpose vehicle (SPV) comprising Bloom Public Health; Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (NAIP) and the Ebonyi State Government, has signed an MOU with the Agaga and Eyokpa villages of Ntezi Community, in Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The historic event which took place on Thursday, 6 October, 2022, had in attendance dignitaries, including the Governor of Ebonyi State, Engineer David Nweze Umahi; board members of Salt City Pharma Park, including the CEO of Bloom Public Health, Professor Chimezie Anyakora; former President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa; former Chairman, Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (NAIP), Pharm. Ignatius Anukwu; Legal Adviser to Salt City, Obasi Nwabueze and Ntezi Community leaders, including Elders Ezekiel Enyi; Peter Chukwu and other government officials.
In a press release made available to Pharmanewsonline, it was stated that the signing of the MoU will allow and hasten the commencement of infrastructural development on the 100 hectares of land donated by the Ebonyi State Government for the Pharmacity Project, which is a strategic pharmaceutical intervention that strives to tackle Nigeria’s unmet needs for both demand and supply of medicines. This will be achieved by increasing Nigeria’s medicine and health products manufacturing capacity and enabling her to reach her full potential, while maintaining strict adherence to international standards.
Conceived and championed by Bloom Public Health, the Pharmacity project refers to compact modern-day pharmaceutical industrial estates that bring together pharmaceutical companies of various sizes, service providers and companies providing support services to co-locate and share infrastructure.
Speaking at the event, CEO of Bloom Public Health, Prof. Anyakora, stated that the Pharmacity Project was necessitated by the urgent need to tackle the existing challenges in Nigeria's pharmaceutical manufacturing sector while also revolutionising indigenous drug manufacturing and repositioning Nigeria to benefit from freer trade on the continent with increasing exports.
According to Anyakora, the concept of Pharmacity is to have multiple pharmaceutical manufacturing hubs in different locations within Nigeria, with a vision of creating a sustainable environment to make quality medicines available and affordable. This, he said, will be achieved by establishing a synergy between all stakeholders, mobilising resources, advocating for the creation of policies and providing a support system for the development of state-of-the-art pharmaceutical industrial parks across Nigeria.
“In Nigeria, the pharmaceutical sector cannot meet the enormous demand for medicines because of its poor local manufacturing capacity. The high cost of pharmaceutical manufacturing, lack of supportive infrastructure for the regulatory compliance of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, poor regulatory policies, and limited access to affordable and reasonable funding are among the many factors responsible for the poor local pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity in Nigeria”, he added.
It is for the reason above that the Pharmacity Project is a right and urgent step in the right direction. It is for the same reason Bloom Public Health, a public health think tank that is building its reputation as one of the most credible technical partners to health-related innovations within and outside Nigeria, is working tirelessly towards ensuring that the Nigerian health space experiences the best possible outcomes through innovation and universal best practice.
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