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As industry leaders, policymakers and stakeholders converge on Lagos for the ongoing 3rd Pharma West Africa Conference, attention has turned to the future of pharmaceutical manufacturing in Africa.
Professor Chimezie Anyakora, CEO of Bloom Public Health and a foremost thought leader in the Nigerian pharmaceutical manufacturing landscape, has called for the establishment of integrated pharmaceutical manufacturing hubs as a strategic pathway to reposition Nigeria and Africa within the global health supply chain.
Speaking during a keynote address on Building Regional Manufacturing Hubs and Incentives for Local Production, Anyakora introduced the concept of “Pharmacity,” a purpose-built pharmaceutical industrial estate designed to accommodate between 20 and 50 companies of varying sizes.
He explained that the model is anchored on shared infrastructure and services, bringing together manufacturers, regulatory authorities, service providers, and technical support organisations within a coordinated ecosystem aimed at improving efficiency and lowering production costs.
According to him, such hubs would unify a wide spectrum of stakeholders, including pharmaceutical manufacturers across scales, packaging and support industries, regulatory and quality assurance bodies, utilities and infrastructure providers, warehousing and logistics operators, research and academic institutions, as well as financing partners and professional service firms.
He noted that this integrated structure is critical for fostering innovation, ensuring compliance with quality standards, and supporting long-term industrial growth.
In a separate interview with Pharmanews on the sidelines of the conference, Anyakora provided further insight into the evolving pharmaceutical landscape, noting, “Over the past two decades, Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry has grown significantly in its readiness to tackle challenges, particularly those relating to local manufacturing capacity.
” He observed that political will across Nigeria and other African countries is increasingly aligning with the need to close gaps in domestic production.Referencing recent data shared by the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, he said Nigeria’s current balance of producing about half of its medicines while importing the rest signals gradual progress toward self-sufficiency.
According to him, “achieving full local manufacturing capacity will depend on building the right workforce, strengthening government incentives, creating a supportive production ecosystem, and ensuring access to markets.
”Anyakora also linked persistent issues such as drug counterfeiting to weaknesses within the pharmaceutical supply chain, stressing that integrated manufacturing hubs could help close critical gaps, including inefficiencies in the movement of medicines from ports to distribution points across the country.
He further highlighted the role of Bloom Public Health in advancing Africa’s health sovereignty agenda, noting that the organisation has continued to champion self-sufficiency in pharmaceutical manufacturing across the continent.
He cited recent engagements in Geneva, Switzerland, where Bloom expanded its global footprint, and in Lyon, France, where it participated in the One Health forum, as part of broader efforts to position Africa as an active contributor to global health innovation.
Anyakora stressed that the conversation around local pharmaceutical manufacturing has become urgent, given Africa’s continued reliance on imported medicines.
He pointed out that recent global disruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign exchange instability, and supply chain shortages, have exposed significant vulnerabilities in the continent’s healthcare systems.
High production costs, he added, have also constrained the competitiveness of local manufacturers, leaving them at a disadvantage against imported products.He argued that the African Continental Free Trade Area presents a unique opportunity for Nigeria to emerge as a regional manufacturing and export hub, but warned that this potential cannot be realised without a shift away from the current model of stand-alone factories. In his view, individual manufacturers are burdened by the full cost of land acquisition, utilities, waste management systems, laboratories, and compliance infrastructure, resulting in duplicated investments, high operating expenses, and reduced profit margins.
The proposed manufacturing hub model, he explained, addresses these inefficiencies by providing shared access to critical infrastructure such as power, water, waste management systems, warehousing, and logistics.
It also enables the establishment of shared quality control and analytical laboratories, while creating opportunities for research, development, and innovation. Importantly, the hubs would facilitate compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices and improve access to regulators and technical service providers, while laying the groundwork for future local production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients.
Anyakora outlined the broader strategic impact of such hubs, noting that they would significantly reduce dependence on imported medicines, improve the affordability of quality-assured drugs for Nigerians, and strengthen indigenous manufacturing capacity.
He added that the model would generate employment, enhance public health security, and build resilience within the pharmaceutical supply chain, ultimately positioning Nigeria as a leading manufacturing hub in Africa.To unlock these benefits, he called for a coordinated package of incentives to support local production.
These include tax holidays and pioneer status for pharmaceutical investments, duty waivers on equipment and essential inputs, and preferential access to foreign exchange for raw materials such as AP Is and excipients.
He also advocated concessional financing, streamlined regulatory processes through a single-window system, and procurement policies that prioritise locally manufactured, quality-assured medicines.In closing, Anyakora urged policymakers, industry stakeholders, and investors to move decisively from fragmented manufacturing structures to integrated hubs.
He emphasised the need to align industrial policy with health security objectives and investment frameworks, while building ecosystems that seamlessly connect manufacturing, regulation, quality assurance, innovation, and trade.
His message was clear: without deliberate structural reforms and targeted incentives, Nigeria risks missing a pivotal opportunity to transform its pharmaceutical sector and secure its place in Africa’s evolving industrial landscape.
