In fulfilment of his pledge, the leadership of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) in conjunction with members of 2018 Conference Planning Committee (CPC) led a strong delegation on a facility tour of World Wide Commercial Ventures Limited.
Welcoming the team, Sherring Thekekkara, chief executive officer, Worldwide Healthcare lauded the efforts of the pharmacists saying they are the reason the Pharmacy profession is highly revered in the society.
Santosh Kumar, WWCVL managing director seemed to be in agreement with him when he remarked that the company holds the Yakasai-led PSN in high regard.
While briefing the team about World Wide Commercial Ventures operations, investment and expansion policy, Kumar explained that over 1.2 billion doses of drugs have been distributed by WWCVL in the year 2017.
The WWCVL boss noted that at the height of the economic recession of 2016-2017, the company further expanded employment up to 350 new positions without having to terminate any employee’s appointment.
In his presentation, Santosh described as eventful the journey of WWCVL when it started with only two global brands – GSK and Pfizer, where a number of local brands were added to its partnership list.
“Within the same period, the WWCVL diversified their portfolio partner listings to include generics and locally manufactured products (from companies like Drugfield, Neimeth, Pharma Deko, Gemini and Shalina) hence demonstrating our commitment to the economic future of the country.
“Also, we have 10 branches across the country – Matori, Ibadan, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Onitsha, Enugu, Benin, Aba and Port Harcourt. We used to have a branch in Maiduguri and Jos until we had to shut it down due to insecurity” he added
Applauding his presentation, the PSN president remarked that he was quite impressed with the growth of the multinational.
“Although this is my second time of coming, I believe that you are adding value to the pharmaceutical industry and the country at large. I must also mention that I am impressed with the state-of-the-art storage facility and huge number of workers in your employ.
“At a time when many companies are cutting down on workforce, I am glad you did not take that route. This is why we cherish your partnership with PSN. At least, you can also tell from the powerful delegation I brought here today,” he declared.
On the issue of defaulting companies, Yakasai assuaged the company’s fear by encouraging the management to forward the list of the erring companies to the society.
“Both the PSN and PCN have disciplinary committees that take care of such issue. However you must ensure that the cases you are bringing involve pharmacists, not Idumota traders. Everything we do must be in accordance with the drug distribution guidelines,” he cautioned.
While taking the team on an official tour of the storage facility and controlled drugs cold rooms, Pharm. Lucky Ubokor, superintendent pharmacist of the company expressed delight at the massive turnout of the delegation members.
“It is visits like this that gives us the needed support for growth and further expansion,” he stressed.
Also in attendance were Pharm. Emeka Duru, national secretary; Mrs Adefolake Adeniyi, national treasurer; Arinola Joda, national publicity secretary; Oluwatosin Adeyemi, editor-in-chief; Onyeka Onyeibor, CPC chairman; Victor Afolabi, CPC vice chairman; Mrs Bolanle Adeniran, chairman, Lagos PSN; Steve Okoronkwo, managing director, Al-Tinez Pharm; Ukamaka Okafor, director, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN); Pharm. Ikenna Orakwe, member, CPC and Sesan Kareem, personal assistant to the president.
Others were Krishnaswamy Venkatesan, WWCVL senior assistant general manager; Pharm. Uduak Nwachukwu, regulatory officer; Joseph Falese, senior manager, logistics; Abiodun Alade, manager, logistics; Johnson Bamigboye, manager, logistics; Pharm. Victor Okafor, sales manager, WWCVL-Shalina division; Ronke Ayanlami, regulatory officer; Martina Shaibu, quality assurance officer and Blessing Bamijoko, secretary to the managing director.
World Wide Commercial Ventures Limited (WWCVL) is part of South Africa based leading logistics and distribution company Imperial logistics and is a licensed vendor to all major healthcare providers in Nigeria. It has also been described as a one-stop solution for warehousing, pharma marketing, supply chain, Sales& Marketing regulatory , port clearance, transportation logistics and inventory management.
WWCVL houses many great companies such as GSK Pharma, Pfizer , GSK Consumer, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Danone, Sanofi, Merck , Neimeth , Drugfield , Gemini .Novo Nordisk, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, Sandoz, Strides and Roche. Getz, Shalina Healthcare and Pharmadeko are the latest addition to the family.
