Sodiq Ojuroungbe
The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Dr Mojisola Adeyeye, has attributed the hike in drug prices to decades of systemic decay in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry.
Speaking at a webinar organised by TheCable to commemorate its 10th anniversary, the NAFDAC DG, stated that the inability of the country to develop a robust local pharmaceutical industry left it dependent on imports, leading to an increase in drug costs.
The webinar, titled, ‘Addressing escalating costs of medicines’, is a virtual event aimed at igniting a comprehensive dialogue on the alarming rise in the prices of essential medicines and medical consumables across Nigeria.
The NAFDAC DG, who was one of the panellists at the webinar, noted that the decades of decay in the industry frustrated the efforts of her administration to change the narrative of drug importation from 70 per cent to 30 per cent.
Recognising the challenges of drug importation and decades of decay in the industry, Adeyeye said NAFDAC embarked on a strategic approach to promote local manufacturing while upholding international quality standards.
She, however, stressed the critical need for the country to prioritise local manufacturing to address longstanding issues of drug insecurity.
The NAFDAC DG underscored the necessity of focusing on local manufacturing to ensure a sustainable supply of quality drugs.
She emphasised NAFDAC’s commitment to strengthening the regulatory framework for drug manufacturing in Nigeria.
Adeyeye explained that key initiatives such as the 5+5 regulatory policy were introduced to incentivise local drug production.
She added, “NAFDAC took the harder way. The harder way is going to be the easier way in the long run. What is the harder way? We started strengthening our regulatory system. You can’t give what you don’t have. So, we have to give international standards and, a quality approach to the local manufacturing of drugs.
“In 2019, we started the 5+5 regulatory directive. What came about that is that we did a study and discovered that the top five drugs that are imported are also the top five drugs that are manufactured in Nigeria locally.
“So, we said if you have been importing for five years, the last renewal would be the last. During that five-year renewal, you will have to migrate to local manufacturing.
“We did that in 2019 before the pandemic. We started unlocking the value chain in Nigeria.
“From that initiative, more than 30 per cent of new companies in Nigeria are the results of 5+5. Because many importers started building their own companies or partnering with local manufacturers through contract manufacturing; that is the way to make drugs available by being accessible.”
She added, “We also did a policy change in NAFDAC; what we called NAFDAC sealing 34. Drugs under those sealing can’t be imported. Before my time, we had only nine drugs, but we were able to increase it to 34. We would not allow the importation of those 34 drugs so that we can start waking up the dying industry and encouraging local manufacturing.
“Our manufacturers import everything except water. The Active pharmaceutical ingredient and the non-active are all imported.
“I challenged my colleagues in the industry that we need to start making local APIs, and that is going to reduce the cost of drugs eventually.”
The NAFDAC DG said the agency actively combats substandard and falsified medicines through unannounced inspections, leveraging technology for supply chain transparency.
Despite challenges such as forex devaluation and the departure of multinational companies, she stressed that NAFDAC is committed to ensuring access to quality medicines while cracking down on illicit practices within the industry.
“NAFDAC is not asleep. Our work is 24/7 in terms of regulation and control of substandard falsified medicines. We do unannounced inspections for local manufacturers. It is easier to get those local manufacturers.
“We are not just talking of access but quality medicine. We go after unscrupulous people in the industry. We are also using technology. NAFDAC is leading in Africa and second leading in the world using technology to make the supply chain visible,” she stated.
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