WHO Certifies 3 Nigerian Pharma Companies For Drug Manufacturing
By Lori Clapper
The World Health Organization (WHO) has given three Nigerian pharmaceutical manufacturing companies the go-ahead to produce international drugs: Evans Pharmaceutical, May & Baker Pharmaceutical, and Chi Pharmaceutical, The Guardian reported Thursday. Up until now, the only certified pharmaceutical production company in operation was Swiss Pharma Nigeria Limited.
According to the Nigerian Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, the clearances were based on results from audits and inspections performed by the agency’s pre-qualification team, and each facility will be required to manufacture according to good manufacturing practices.
WHO prequalification has consistently been a hurdle for Nigerian local drug industries, not to mention a significant concern to the Nigerian government due to the significant loss of money and resources for non-WHO pre-qualification of local drug manufacturing companies. In fact, the government explained that its pharmaceutical industry spent over $600 million “in its determination to attain the pre-qualification of about four local firms in the country by the World Health Organization,” the website Punch said.
“By this laudable achievement Nigeria is recorded among the nations of the world whose local drug industries manufacture at WHO standards,” Chukwu said. “The WHO GMP standard is the international norm, and Nigeria has joined the world in this global phenomenon.
He also added that he was optimistic that it was “a new dawn in the nation’s health sector,” believing that seven more WHO-approved Nigerian manufacturers will be approved to supply drugs globally by the by the end of 2014.
There are currently more than 130 pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria. The country’s pharmaceutical imports are anticipated to reach $789 million by 2018, as a result of the importation of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and other raw materials used to manufacture finished pharmaceutical products India, the U.S., and Germany, among other countries, according to Business Day.