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More than forty companies from India participated in pharmaceutical exhibition organised by the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) in Nigeria’s commercial capital of Lagos on Wednesday.
The two-day fair, tagged, “Brand India Pharma”, witnessed a massive turnout from Nigerians seeking information or wanting to purchase Indian drugs.
In the opening ceremony, the oil rich African country’s drug regulatory body commended the firms for being World Health Organisation (WHO) Good Manufacturing Practices certified, a factor he said is not known among Nigeria pharmaceutical companies.
“Many Indian companies are WHO pre-qualified companies and we are working with them to transfer knowledge and technology to our people,” the chairman of regulatory body National Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC), Mr Paul Orhii, told a crowd that turned up to witness the opening ceremony of the two-day event.
He enthused that India has a lot to gain from cooperation and so does Nigeria, since it “is mutually beneficial cooperation“.
The High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Mahesh Sachdev, reassured NAFDAC of the determination of Indian companies to tackle the menace of fake Indian medicines from non-Indian sources.
“I would also venture to suggest that the stakeholders could think in terms of entering in such areas as co-manufacture, distribution and retailing,” Mr Sachdev said, urging a greater presence of Indian drug companies in Nigeria.
India occupies the status of first supplier of pharmaceutical products to Nigeria and its drugs enjoy wide patronage in the country of 150 million people.
Issues had arisen in the past over fake drugs alleged to be manufactured in India, but further investigations revealed they were produced in another country, but labelled “Made in India“.
Nigeria imports a large quantum of pharma products from India and many Indian companies already exist here.
Furthermore, Nigerians seeking medical attention abroad make India their preferred choice as a result of affordability and efficacy.
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