Subsidised imported drugs killing local firms- Experts

BY CHIOMA OBINNA
Imported drugs at subsidized rates into Nigerian market from multilateral funds has been identified as bane of local drug manufacturing firms.

The Chairman, Board of Coriander Resources Limited, Mr. Sola Solarin, who spoke at a two-day annual conference of the company in Lagos, said it had been observed that some government policies more often than not undermined the local pharmaceutical industry.

Solarin said even the anti-malarial, anti-retroviral and anti-tuberculosis segments combined, constituted almost 20 percent of the total pharmaceutical market.

He said: “These segments are now totally controlled by imported products supplied by these donor funds. To concede these segments to donor funds, who insist Nigerian companies cannot offer their products to the Nigerian people is disingenuous at the least.”

Explaining further, the Coriander boss remarked that government cannot in one breadth campaign for investment in local manufacturing and at the same time encourage practices that undermined local manufacturers.

“It is important that the Nigerian government gives all required guarantees to these donor agencies, that will qualify Nigerian products for participation in their schemes,” he said.

Solarin, however, noted that the business environment for the pharmaceutical industry in 2010 presented a perfect storm.

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