Nigeria’s idle drug capacity hangs on $4b contract manufacturing potential

Nigeria’s idle pharmaceutical industry capacity is a $4 billion growth potential that key stakeholders say can be unlocked through contract manufacturing opportunities that will ramp up local production.

Leading players in the sector say the country can stop poor capacity utilisation and address the wide margin between drug demands and supply from within by ensuring manufacturing facilities are adequately equipped to meet global standards for general manufacturing practice (GMP).

With a quality, transparent and verifiable production procedure, idle capacities in most Nigerian pharmaceutical companies fed be fed by contract manufacturing outsourcing (CMO) firms, which are increasingly driven by the growing demand for generic drugs, need to cut complex production costs and requirements, Sammy Ogunjinmi, vice president, the Nigerian Representative of Overseas Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (NIROPHARM) told BusinessDay.

He said efforts to ramp up local pharmaceutical manufacturing must shift from locking importers out of the domestic market to collaborations that can result in the production of foreign products locally.