Katagum Tasks Pharmaceutical Industry to Boost Vaccine Production in Nigeria

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The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Maryam Katagum, has urged the Organised Private Sector (OPS) to leverage on the opportunities of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to boost vaccine production in the country.

According to her, underdeveloped economies have a five year waiver to use TRIPS to develop vaccines against future pandemic occurrences.

She also reaffirm SON commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry through standardization

Katagum stated this at the 9th African Day of Standardisation 2022 themed “Promoting the African pharmaceutical and medical devices industries through standardisation” in Lagos.

In her words: “That is why we are speaking to the pharmaceutical society and manufacturers on the need to take advantage of this opportunity not because of COVID, but for other pandemic as well. So we must have these vaccine facilities in place. A country like Nigeria, we must have our own vaccine production facilities because there are other illnesses that are also endemic. Some will be discovered in the future, some will mutate so that readiness, we cannot allow another pandemic to come.”

Meanwhile, the Director General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mallam Farouk Salim, restated the agency’s commitment to protect the pharmaceutical industry by offering the sector standardisation and certification services, saying that certification would go a long way to make the pharmaceutical industry attractive and competitive.

The Minister also reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to supporting the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON)in its bid to discharge its mandate, stressing that the commitment is evident in the recent approval secured for the standards body to return to the ports with a view to collaborating with the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to tackle the menace of substandard at all entry points in Nigeria.

She therefore called on SON and all regulatory authorities involved in the industry to redouble efforts in ensuring that only goods and services that have complied with the laid down standards are available in the nation’s markets

She however said the celebration of the day is organised annually on the African continent to create and promote awareness on issues relating to standardisation and conformity assessment, among member countries of the ARSO.

She stated that the theme is very apt, in view of the fact that the world is still struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that the theme speaks to the need for Africa and Africans to pay greater attention to promoting home-made solutions to some of the challenges confronting the continent, in line with the laid down Standards.

According to her, the need to accelerate the development of the pharmaceutical industry on the continent became more apparent in the face of Covid-19 Pandemic, which restricted the movement of goods and services worldwide.

She said the operationalisation of the African continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has turned the African continent into one huge market and provided Africa the competitive edge in trading with other continents, as a body.

“The need to promote intra-African trade and commerce, becomes even more compelling in order not only to take optimum advantage of the huge African Market, but to position the continent against future pandemics. In order to deepen the consciousness of the citizenry on the need to conform with standards, essay competitions for tertiary institutions and quiz competitions among secondary schools are part of the yearly African Day celebration of standardisation. I therefore congratulate all the participants in both the Essay and Quiz Competitions, and look forward to meeting the winners during the presentation of the prizes,” she averred.

She pointed out that SON being a founding member of ARSO and one of the driving forces of the development of continental standards, as well as harmonisation of National Standards across the continent, has continuously and positively projected the image of the country.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria has overtime, evolved policies and strategies for promoting, not only the growth of the pharmaceutical industry, but has provided financial support through special intervention funds and repositioning of the industry for more investments. These efforts have endeared the Nigerian pharmaceutical industry to investors,” she noted.

She said in order to deepen the support for the pharmaceutical and medical industry, the Federal Ministry Industry Trade and Investment, in collaboration with key stakeholders, is currently formulating a policy framework for the development of Health Industries Corporation of Nigeria (HICON).

“HICON is designed to provide the critical enabling environment that will attract investments for the growth and development of pharmaceutical and medical infrastructure in the country.The health industry comprises business activities in manufacturing, which includes drugs, medical devices/equipment etc; infrastructure: hospitals, lab design and construction as well as services: medical and nursing care, insurance and hospital management,” she added.

The Director General stated that policies, guidelines and regulations enacted by African governments to facilitate the development of the pharmaceutical Industry in Africa will be reinforced.

He added that harmonising standards in the pharmaceutical industry would create an opportunity for the pharmaceuticals market in Africa which is expected to reach a business opportunity of $45 billion propelled by a convergence of changing economic profiles, rapid urbanization, increased healthcare spending and investments.

The SON boss added that the implementation of the African Union Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa (PMPA) is focused on improved access, quality, availability and affordability of pharmaceutical products, as well as increased economic benefits through sustainability, competitiveness, and self reliance of the industry, He highlighted some of the challenges confronting the continent’s pharmaceutical industry, including strengthening the regulatory systems arising from Africa’s small fragmented markets, saying that weak regulatory frameworks and incoherent trade policies remains important.
“Thecelebrations, therefore, for the 2022 African Day of Standardisation should bring to the attention of governments, policy makers, industry and the academia the potentials of the African pharmaceutical industry in promoting Africa’s industrialisation,sustainable development and opportunities available under the AfCFTA agreement.
[7/21, 8:28 PM] Tubo 2: The Deputy Vice President, University of Benin, Prof Ray Ozolua, said one of major advantages of standardisation is the ability to cross borders,saying that the harmonisation of standards would make products acceptable anywhere on the continent.
“So standards are really the platform on which we will leverage and deliver our services, not just within our continent, but to the world and we do know that yes, when it comes to active pharmaceutical ingredients, we will probably be playing catch up with the rest of the world because they are already far ahead. Well, when it comes to herbals, we can lead and if we do make products, our herbal medicines, for example, to meet standards, then the world will use them,” he said.
He stated that substandard goods is killing the pharmaceutical industry, because the unscrupulous individuals who engage in substandard goods set out cheaper and cuts corners to make profits.
“Substandard goods threaten and kill the industry eventually and as you can see, for those who are old enough, if you look back 30 years head on, as our pharmaceutical industry grown. No, it has shrunk because they can’t compete with substandard goods,” he added.
On his part, a Professor at the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) Olobayo Kunle, said people need to be awaken to the dangers of substandard goods, advising that substandard drugs are doing more harm than good.
“He commended the federal government for returning SON back to the port, adding that fighting fake and substandard goods are best fought at the point of entries.
“It is a fantastic move to return SON back to the ports as this would help combat the preponderance of fake syringes, break pads, insulin, drugs and many more into the country,” he said.