Chairman of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, (PMG-MAN), Okey Akpa stressed the need for the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria to sustain the commitment to quality and the process of international certification schemes such as ISO 9001-2008, the WHO Prequalification of Medicines, the USFDA standards and others while also appealing for incentives such as tax holidays from government to support the extra investments for quality upgrades and new factories.
In the keynote address at the Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo 2015, Okey Akpa while highlighting the achievements by the Nigerian pharmaceutical companies, said, “Nigeria is currently the biggest pharmaceutical manufacturing country in West Africa. It accounts for more than 65 per cent of the local manufacture of medicines relevant to the people and diseases of our nation and region.”
Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo 2015, was inaugurated by Dr. Paul Ohrii, director general, National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration And Control (NAFDAC) on September 7, 2015 at Lagos, Nigeria. The three-day long international exhibition on complete pharma manufacturing showcased more than 4,300 products services by 132 exhibiting companies from nine countries, and was addressing the stakeholders in the health sector in Central & West African region to exchange information, products, services and ideas.
The 3rd Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo 2015 and Nigeria Lab Expo 2015 were organised under the theme ‘The Nigerian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Industry and International Competitiveness.’ The Expo was jointly organised by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, (PMG-MAN), and GPE EXPO PVT. LTD.
Special pavilions like; India pavilion (through MSME and EEPC India, government of India featuring pharma processing & packaging machineries & materials, clean room & environment control eqpts & services, utility products & services, turn key project consultants, empty gelatin capsules), PMG-MAN pavilion (featuring Nigeria based local manufacturers and pharma finished products), China pavilion (through CCCMHPIE featuring API, pharma bulk chemicals). There were direct participations from Switzerland, Ethiopia, etc. to mark their presence through exhibition in Central & West African pharma markets.
The association head revealed that the industry will also continue to collaborate with international partners in the areas of research into natural products, backward integration for inputs, technology transfer and training contract manufacture as well as joint ventures/ equity participation. The chairman stated that to make impact on the global stage, many manufacturers in Nigeria have processed Expression of Interest (EOI) with the World Health Organisation (WHO) for Pre-qualification of Products-Manufacturers processing WHO Pre-qualification and have invested over US$ 50 million in the last five years.
He acknowledged the support of NAFDAC, Federal Government of Nigeria and the West African Health Organisation (WAHO), the WHO Pre-qualification of Medicine Team and finally the Boards of these companies for their patriotism and commitment to the Nigerian project. The next exhibition – NPME 2017 is scheduled to take place during September 2017 at Lagos, Nigeria. The official media partners and official website of Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo is www.nigeriapharmaexpo.com.
NPME 2015 is endorsed by Federal Ministry of Health (Nigeria), National Agency for Food & Drug Administration & Control (NAFDAC - Nigeria), West African Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, and supported by the EEPC India.