It was a delightful encounter when we decided to have a one-on-one with Pharmacist Olusola Akande, who is the Marketing Director at one of Nigeria’s reputable Pharmaceutical Company – Drugfield Pharmaceuticals Limited.
Pharmacist Olusola Akande is a thoroughbred in the sales and marketing arm of the industrial pharmaceutical Practice. A practitioner of over twenty years of repute In Nigeria’s Pharmaceutical Healthcare Industry, who has put in his best to advance Pharmaceutical Practice in Nigeria. He Has Steadfastly and Successfully steered the Sales and Marketing Department of DRUGFIELD PHARMACEUTICAL LTD, an Otta, Ogun State-based foremost and Leading Pharmaceutical manufacturing Concern, for two unbroken decades, where he currently still practices his Profession. In this interview, he bares his views on a wide range of issues in various aspects of the Pharmaceutical Practice in Nigeria, revolving mostly around Challenges facing the Pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria. Through his Lead, we had a comprehensive PEEP Into how best the challenges can be tackled and resolved, how to generally Improve drug distribution and reach In Nigeria, and how best to improve and advance the practice of pharmacy in general in the country. He didn’t fail to speak passionately about his employer – DRUGFIELD PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED.
The encounter was more personal than formal, and the atmosphere was cordial too. Please enjoy his experience exposed to that wide range of issues in the Pharmaceutical Industry in general – both In Nigeria and abroad. EXCERPTS:
We have to first know who you are before you begin to speak to the world about the industry. Don’t you think so?
Yeah, it’s necessary.
So, can we meet you? Just tell us a little about yourself…
My name is Olusola Akande, I’m a Pharmacist by training and the Executive Director of Marketing for Drugfield Pharmaceuticals Limited. I grew up in Ibadan. I attended Loyola College, Ibadan, for my secondary school education, later I went to Obafemi Awolowo University Ile Ife for my Bachelor of Pharmacy degree. I’m also an MBA holder. I have a Master’s in Business Administration. I’ve also attended some courses abroad in marketing, especially at NEXFORD UNIVERSITY Washington. I started my sales and marketing career in 2003. Here I am today – the Executive Director of Drugfield Pharmaceuticals Limited, one of the leading indigenous pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in Nigeria.
Okay, before you made your choice to become a pharmacist, did you have any influence while growing up of people around you, or those you see as mentors?
Yeah, when I was in secondary school, I was a science student and most science students then wanted to study medicine just like it was the usual then. But I had a limitation. I’m a very compassionate and emotional person. I hate seeing people going through pain, I hate seeing people shedding blood in any form. So, if I see people in pain sometimes, I could get so emotional to the extent of crying with them. So, I knew I would not be a good medical practitioner. But I had a friend who was in my class then in secondary school, he had an uncle who was a pharmacist in one of the pharmaceutical multinational companies in Nigeria. So, he used to tell me about that uncle of his, how he regularly used brand new cars, his dressing, how he used to tell them about the presentations he had in one hospital or the other. Then I started falling in love with all those tales and the pharma industry. Yes, the thinking then was if I could not do medicine, why not? Let me go for pharmacy. After all, it’s still in the medical line. That’s how I ended up studying pharmacy at the Obafemi Awolowo University.
That’s very good. Some emotional story there, especially in the area where you expressed resistance to seeing people suffer or shed blood.
Yes, there are some of us like that anyway.
You said you started your marketing career. – Yes, Sales and marketing career in 2003. All right, would you like to tell us when Drugfield Pharmaceuticals was established?
The company was incorporated in 1991 and it commenced manufacturing operations in 1993. It started with topical preparations like penicillin skin ointment, Whitefield ointment, Gentamicin ointment etc.
Yes, that’s what I usually know Drugfield for because those were the drugs I was used to. I used some of those topical products in those days as a young man. I hope you are still making them.
Yes, like I said, we started with topical preparations and a lot of people knew us then for being specialists in topical preparations. We started with that because if you look at pharmaceutical manufacturing generally, you will realize that it’s more cost-effective to start with topical preparations like ointments, creams, and the likes compared to tablets, capsules, and even liquid preparations. And if your product is very qualitative, you will gain ground. As of then, a lot of people were not into topical preparations. Drugfield was one of the companies that pioneered the manufacturing of topical preparations in Nigeria. That’s how we started from there.
Prior to then, I mean prior to establishing the company as a manufacturing concern, did you do anything like marketing other people’s products?
NO. The company was started by the visioneer of the company, Pharmacist, OLAKUNLE EKUNDAYO, who today is our group managing director/chief executive officer. He was a seasoned production pharmacist with Pfizer. He was trained at SmithKline Beecham and Pfizer before he eventually started Drugfield Pharmaceuticals Limited. He’s well experienced when it comes to Production pharmacy. That’s actually what led him to establish his own manufacturing company. He’s an expert and a guru when it comes to the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. That’s how the company commenced production in 1993. Between then and now, the company has expanded from only ointments and creams to liquid preparations, tablets, caplets, and then later, sterile plants where ophthalmic preparations and injectables are being produced.
You’ve almost covered the entire spectrum of the pharmaceutical Field.
Yeah! Then we started production in Lagos before we moved to our permanent site at Sango Otta, where we are presently. Then we have depots spread across the geopolitical zones of the country to enhance our reach.
You’ve almost covered the entire Nigerian space with your distribution network. How large are they really?
Yes, we run a depot system to distribute our products. We have 14 depots in Nigeria. Not only that, but we also do business in other African countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, the Republic of Benin, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Mali, Togo, and Swaziland. We do business in all these places.
All these places? You’re almost getting me dizzy with your big register of coverage. It’s all right but go on. That takes care of the second question.
So, the company is expanding daily, and we are not resting on our oars. Yet we are still looking for what else we can do; what other opportunities do we have within the system that we can key into? For example, regarding the issue of vaccines, we may consider that- (talking about vaccines), may not be now, but maybe in the near future, because COVID-19 has taught us a lot of Lessons as a country. The Western countries shut their doors against us. It was when they had given vaccines to their people that they considered people from this part of the world.
Yes, what I call vaccine Nationalization.
Yes, so they considered giving vaccines to the developing nations after they had almost vaccinated all their nationals, which is normal. Of course, if your house and your neighbour’s house are burning at the same time, you’re most likely to take care of your own house first. It’s a natural instinct. So, it’s normal. That was a lot of lessons for us as a Nation. During COVID-19, a lot of medical consumables were barely available. The prices of some of these medical consumables went as high as -you won’t believe it. Nose masks were being sold for more than N500,000 per carton because they were imported. Imagine if those products were manufactured in Nigeria. Imagine if the vaccines we waited for so long were manufactured in Nigeria. So, there are still so many opportunities yet to be explored in Nigeria, and Drugfield as a company, is ready and positioned to tap into some of them, and by God’s grace, we will continue to expand our horizons.
At this stage, I believe it won’t be out of place to look at the Vision of Drugfield and the Mission. Part of the mission you have explained, but this may serve to carve it out. I think it’s necessary.
Our Vision from the beginning has always been to be one of the leading indigenous pharmaceutical manufacturers in Nigeria. We believe we are one of them already. However, it’s said that the only room that’s always available is room for improvement, so we want to grow bigger and bigger. Our Mission is to constantly roll out quality medicines using modern technologies and highly trained personnel and professionals to achieve that. And which is what we are doing presently. That’s our Mission statement.
That is very impressive, from what you’ve said so far, you’re obviously a giant in the industry. Mentioning the number of depots you have in Nigeria and your African link/spread, actually qualify you as a giant. Would you tell us what you are doing to keep your position and maintain your pace? Are there competitions that are giving you sleepless nights?
Yes, there are competitions, especially from the imported brands. You know, for a lot of people and considering the business clime in Nigeria, it appears more sensible to import finished products than to manufacture locally. This is because there are so many factors that could militate against you as a manufacturer – look at the cost of diesel, look at the exchange rate, lack of infrastructure etc. Except you are patriotic, it doesn’t make much sense for you to say you want to set up a plant in Nigeria as a manufacturer. We call ourselves local manufacturers, but 80-90% of most of our inputs are still being imported, especially the APIs, the Excipients, and sometimes the packaging materials. There are so many factors we still need to contend with: e.g. you manufactured and packaged your products at a set price, and somebody would just bring in his finished products from China and India, which are largely subsidized. As a manufacturer and exporter in China or India, you merit a certain amount of grant or subsidy from the government. So even if you sell below your cost price, you may still make some profits. To compete with such people might be difficult. That’s why the local manufacturers have been advocating to the government to please place a ban on the importation of drugs that local manufacturers can produce. Prof Akunyili did it when she was the DG of NAFDAC. So, these are part of the challenges we are facing as manufacturers in Nigeria. But like you earlier remarked about us as a giant, we are doing much to keep up our position, e.g. we are known for quality. Our visioner was trained at Pfizer, one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world, so he came along with that mind of quality into the standards we parade as a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer in Nigeria. We don’t take quality lightly, so we are constantly rolling out quality medicines and that has kept us at the top. That’s why people have confidence in our products. Again, we keep improving our quality through innovative processes. Always researching how we can improve the quality of all our products.
Talking about improvement, is there a situation where your product meant to treat a particular health challenge was used for the treatment of other challenges?
Yes. Let me give you an example. We have a product called CHLORXY-G Gel (Chlorhexidine Gel). The brand name is CHLORXY-G, and it’s used for umbilical cord care in newborns. In 2014, W.H.O. came out with a new guideline for umbilical cord care. Prior to this period, the use of Methylated spirit was the general and usual thing in newborns for umbilical cord care.
So, in 2014, W.H.O. came out with a new guideline that Chlorhexidine Digluconate – 4% either in aqueous or gel form should be used for umbilical cord care in newborns. So, when the Guideline came out, we happened to be the first company in Africa to come out with that product in gel form. We were the first company in Africa and the second in the whole world to manufacture that product. There’s a company in Nepal that came out with that product before us, but we are the first company in Africa to bring the product to the market. So, the products had a lot of acceptability. I told you we sell to other African countries, in fact, it is that product that opened that door and other avenues used to access other African countries. Now that product is for umbilical cord care, but somebody told me that he had a wound and he applied that product after applying so many other products as the last resort. And to his surprise, it was like magic. You understand?-(Interjecting)-Yeah, that takes care of my question. Yes, and another person said he used that same product for treating the circumcision wound of his boy, a newborn baby. He said after applying the Gel to the umbilical cord he also applied it to the penile area of the boy, and it also worked, you understand? We also have another product HEMOPLUS. It’s a cream and normally it’s used for hemorrhoids. But somebody also had a wound that would not heal on his leg, and he applied HEMOPLUS CREAM. The medical doctor had to tell us that this product, apart from being used for haemorrhoids, is also very good in the treatment of wounds. So, sometimes you manufacture a product for a particular purpose, and it serves other purposes.
And that is unwitting of you. You didn’t know it was doing that? Because it wasn’t designed for that purpose?
No, we didn’t know it was doing that because it wasn’t designed for that purpose.
Do you have any explanation for that? Is it because the product is probably injury-remedying? So anywhere there is injury within the system, topical injury I mean, it would just search it out and take care of it?
Yes! If you look at the Hemoplus I am talking about, it contains Hydrocortisone, Gentamicin, and Chlorhexidine, and these have anti-inflammatory, antibiotics and antiseptic properties that if you have a wound, sometimes if the wound is infected, one of these components might just take care of the wound. Yes, but that is not the purpose of the design of the product. So, it works because of the constituents in the product.
Okay, that’s a very big plus for your products. Sometimes I was in a gathering where there were representations from the pharmaceutical industry, the Ministry of Health, the Minister of Health, and NAFDAC. One of the requests from the reps of pharmaceutical manufacturers revolved around giving them a special rebate or special consideration in terms of Foreign exchange. That request was directed to the rep of the Minister of Health. Did such a thing happen after all, before this present unification of exchange rates?
No, it did not happen. And this is one of the major challenges we are facing as an industry.
Is it because you didn’t push hard enough or that the government is neglecting that area?
You know the problem with Forex; No 1, you can’t give what you don’t have. Our main source of Forex as a country is through the sales of crude oil. The time you are mentioning was during the administration of the immediate past regime. The production per barrel of crude oil fell to about 1,000, 000 barrels per day.-(Interjecting)-It’s less than that, it was about 900,000 barrels. Okay, so there was actually a shortage of Forex, and the government has so many other sectors to satisfy, ours is just one of them. Now at any point in time government does not have enough Forex, so you can’t give what you don’t have. The summary is that we did not get any. Even those who got FG loans during the COVID-19 period, -the COVID-19 relief loan granted to pharmaceutical concerns also had a similar problem with forex. We didn’t request it because we don’t run our company on loans, but for those who got it, after getting it, you have given me the loan, where is the Forex? I need to bring in APIs, and other raw materials.–(Interjecting)-Sounds like a case of Audio loan–LAUGHTERS ON BOTH SIDES!!!, Yeah! There was no preference given the Pharmaceutical concerns, so there wasn’t any special privilege we enjoyed.
Alright, let’s look back a little. From the inception of Drugfield till now, we can say that a lot of water has passed under the bridge. Yes, there’s been a lot of modernization and things are not the way it used to be. Things you could achieve with one large machine, you could achieve it now with a much smaller setup. What are you doing to meet up with that challenge? I see it as a challenge because some of the machinery you worked with would be seen as obsolete now. In addition to the processes which keep getting refined and redefined from time to time. Newer pharmaceutical manufacturing concerns are coming up with today’s technology, so what are you doing to meet that challenge and still stay relevant?
Apart from the types of machineries, even the processes, you now have modern processes. I discussed the issue of CHLORXY-G (Chlorhexidine Gel) the other time that we happened to be the first in Africa, and second in the world. Now when we introduced that product, it caught global attention, to the extent that donor agencies like UNICEF, UNIDO, USP, and WAHO picked interest because they wanted the product to spread, and there were only two companies. As a result of this, our company was subjected to a lot of thorough GMP inspections, quite a lot of these organizations came from abroad to conduct this GMP inspection. This exposed us to newer technology, processes and procedures. It’s not that we are archaic, we are not archaic, but you know there’s always something new coming out. So, we were exposed to all those and it helped us a lot. That’s number one, number two is that you also have newer machines and equipment. And you can’t say Okay let’s bring down these facilities because there are newer ones, so what’s on the ground now is that we have two new plants that we are building presently. There’s plant C there – (pointing to a section of structures under construction across the road and opposite the existing structures), it is a very big modern technology, with modern types of machinery. As a matter of fact, our plan is to get one of the products in that plant to be pre-qualified by W.H.O. So, we are in tune with the modern realities. Not only that, but we have also subscribed to a lot of international organizations that organize conferences like CPHI China, CPHI Germany, CPHI SPAIN, IPHEX etc. They organize these conferences every year to expose those who are in this pharmaceutical manufacturing business to modern types of equipment and processes. We attend such conferences and seminars every year. Earlier in 2023 our MD was in Germany for one of such. So, we are in tune with modern realities as a company.
Yes, that is well said and that’s good. Now let’s delve into the industry a little. You, being in this kind of gigantic, from what you are saying, you are even more gigantic than I imagined. Now, if you have a passion for the pharmaceutical industry, if you want to see something done differently, in the industry as a whole, outside Drugfield and yourself. What would you go for first as a Low-hanging fruit? What would you want to go for first before you take care of others?
You know, there is this list that is called the prohibition list that was generated by manufacturers, regulators and the government. I think it contains about 50 products thereabout. The proposal has always been that the government should ban the importation of these products because the local manufacturers have the capacity to manufacture these products locally and sufficiently. That’s one prong – For me, if I want to be an importer, or if I were an importer for example, I don’t need more than this room and this other room-(pointing to his big office space and the adjourning room), and maybe a warehouse to set up my office. Yes, and I may not require more than five staff or six. Just get a distributor and truck that will be taking it to them and get somebody that will be generating demand for the products. But as a manufacturer, you require far more than that. That is why manufacturers are the drivers of the economy. They are the greatest employers of labour. And like I said the other time, COVID-19 has taught us so many lessons. So, we need to encourage and put in place measures that will enhance the growth of the local manufacturers. So, if I have my way, what I would say is government should implement that prohibition list.
Okay, that would be your first approach. If that’s your first shot, do you see it as feasible?
Yes. That would be my first shot. And yes, I see it as feasible. Professor AKUNYILI did it when she was DG of NAFDAC. Yeah, she pushed for it, and I think she got about 20 products then. And a lot of local manufacturers actually grew as a result of that. I remember there was a ban on the importation of Clotrimazole cream, and we manufacture that product, – Mycoten. And that was when the product gained more acceptance. So, if the government can repeat that, that would be good for us. I mean, we don’t have any business importing anti-malaria drugs in Nigeria. We don’t have any business importing some antibiotics too. We have local manufacturers who can fill in the gap. So, that would be my first shot. My second shot would be a reduction in import tariffs. The government should reduce the tariff being paid at the port for APIs.-(Interjecting)-That’s everybody’s shot. Yes. Government can reduce the tariff or can even give waivers to some items of imports? Maybe for some anti-malaria raw material products, can we do zero tariffs?
Your answers bring me to the area of product pricing. There is an informal notion that imported drugs are cheaper than locally manufactured ones. But the proponents of this notion don’t look at the comparison on efficacy of the products brands, but only harp on the price differentials. We know that our locally manufactured pharmaceutical products have several quality control measures imposed on them by regulatory bodies like NAFDAC, SON, and others to make sure they bring out qualitative products. Since the government has not granted your zero or reduced tariff request, what are you doing to tilt the scale toward locally manufactured drugs? And how has it affected your buy Nigeria-made product campaign?
Yeah, it’s a big blow but one thing we always want people to know is that price is usually a function of value. Statistics have revealed that the majority of the fake drugs were imported into this country. Nigerians will go abroad and bring in all kinds of substandard medicines. You can afford to do that if you are an importer. I’m not trying to downplay the roles importers play, I mean, we need importers. Like I said, I don’t need more than this space – (pointing to areas within his office space), as an importer. If anything happens, I will just close it and run away. Can anybody run away with all these infrastructures you see on the ground – (again pointing to the array of edifices within their factory complex), No. You can’t run away. So, because you can’t run away, you cannot afford to do certain things. So, I believe the locally produced products, because of the quality and the value they are adding, are still far cheaper and more cost-effective. I would rather use that when compared in value to all these cheaper imported brands. Yes.
But some local manufacturers are cutting corners. And let me say they are the few, probably because they are desperate, or they want to gain acceptance. What are you doing as a manufacturing concern that is under the pharmaceutical society of Nigeria?
You know, in every 12 there must be a Judas. The truth of the matter is that operating in such a manner is becoming increasingly more difficult every day because of the activities of the regulator, which is NAFDAC. NAFDAC, of course, like every other organization, may not be perfect, but they are trying to sanitize the whole industry. Now, to just set up a mushroom plant and manufacture is almost impossible because of the activities of NAFDAC and PCN. Every two years, they conduct a GMP audit and renew your GMP certificate. This involves so many procedures and processes, unlike in the past that every Dick and Harry could just register any product. Now, it takes longer time because NAFDAC is now paying more attention to so many areas.
Have there been situations where NAFDAC revoked the license of any errant manufacturer?
If they don’t approve your GMP license, that’s enough. They may not revoke your license. Before they revoke your license, you must have done something extremely out of order.
This approval you’re talking about is more like a review. Quarterly, or yearly, or whatever?
They visit every factory twice a year to see how companies are complying with the necessary GMP guidelines. So, NAFDAC is trying, they need to do more, but we have to commend them for what they are doing presently.
All right, from what you’ve said, let’s look at what more, as the manufacturers, vis-a-vis the regulators, what more do you think NAFDAC needs to do for the industry? Especially because NAFDAC is the number one regulator for the pharmaceutical and food industries, and then there is SON too.
Yeah, NAFDAC is the main regulator, but SON does not deal with the real pharmaceutical aspect of the business. But when it comes to packaging materials and other stuff that is where the SON comes on.
Your word is like; there is more they need to do. You, as a manufacturing concern, the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria, need NAFDAC to do more. Yes. Which area do you think they should come in?
For example, if you want to register a new product, you are expected to submit a CTD-Dossier. Sometimes it takes an unnecessarily prolonged time to get dossiers reviewed. Sometimes this could take like forever. One good thing about NAFDAC is they have created a platform where they interact with the stakeholders, including the pharmaceutical manufacturers. And we rub minds together from time to time. For example, we had one recently and stakeholders spoke their minds. And we said, look, these and these are affecting us. And the DG has listening ears. We shared some of our challenges with her. We requested a waiver in certain areas that will not affect the quality of the products. So NAFDAC is trying, but there are so many other ways they can assist. And they keep doing that anytime we call on them.
That is good to hear. Let’s dwell on this now that we’re here. Would you happen to know the reason NAFDAC delays before they give, maybe approvals or they approve the CTD Dossier issue? And other areas they drag.
Yes, you know, what NAFDAC is trying to do is to measure up with international standards. So, the rate-determining step if you want to register any product in NAFDAC is the CTD dossier. And there is a particular format that must be followed. These are international requirements. Recently, NAFDAC attained level three status, global status.-(interjecting)-That’s good. And they want to aim for level four now. And for you to be given that recognition, you as the regulator must have attained certain standards including some of these things people complain about. And recently again, they’ve been admitted into ICH. There are countries called ICH countries, and NAFDAC has just been admitted. Some of these things, to an average investor or manufacturer, are cumbersome, but to some of us who are involved in international business, it’s a big plus for us. For example, we do business in Botswana. Botswana is a Southern African country. And all this while we’ve not been able to supply our sterile products like our ophthalmic preparations. Why? The policy there is that for any company to supply sterile products, the regulator of that country must be a member of ICH (International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use)-(interjecting)-Okay you mean the Country of origin? Yes origin, so for so long we were not able to supply because NAFDAC was not admitted into ICH. But recently NAFDAC has just been admitted. And so, it’s a big plus and big news for us. So, some of these conditions are stringent, but at the end of the day, it’s to improve the overall quality of the products.
Yes, from what you’re saying, I can make my deductions, though I’m not in the industry. If you put them on a scale; it is easy to get your requirements or getting approvals, and standards of recognition, even worldwide, or maybe beyond our shores. Which do you think weighs more?
Well, to an average manufacturer, not necessarily Drugfield, that is not going international, he would prefer to get his product registered. However, anywhere you find yourself, you need to dream big.
But the question is. Must NAFDAC necessarily drag the process? Or is it because the products have to pass through different stages before they come back as approved products?
Yes! And the stages are spelt out. It’s not that they will manufacture those processes when you start product registration to make life difficult. However, even though they are written out, some of them are being delayed during the processing time. For example, if you submit your dossier, one of the reasons why it’s been delayed may be that NAFDAC does not have enough hands to review them. For example, 40,000 dossiers could have been submitted. And NAFDAC may have like 20 staff to handle that. Each dossier could contain as much as 1,500 pages. Imagine that. So, it takes time for this process to be completed. So, it is not that NAFDAC wants to delay unnecessarily.
Now we are getting to the meat of the real thing. Why don’t they employ robots – (laughter)? Well, I actually mean some kind of AI-assisted software.
Some of these are some of the issues we discuss with NAFDAC any time we meet. But they are constantly improving on their system, on capacity building especially.-(interjecting)-That’s where they need to work on. And in fairness to NAFDAC, they are always giving preference to local manufacturers. For an importer to register a product now, for those who import finished products, it takes an average of two to three years. But of course, with local manufacturers, it will not be as prolonged as that. Because of the cooperation we are enjoying.
They are presumably trying to silently discourage importation, right?
Maybe. Every country tries to always encourage local manufacturing, especially after Covid-19 lessons. Although we still have to import a lot of drugs especially drugs that we don’t have the capacity to manufacture locally. For example, insulin, some anti-cancer drugs etc. These are life-saving drugs.-(interjecting)-They are like the advanced ailment drugs? Yes. So, we still need to import many of these medicines. The manufacturers have an umbrella called PMGMAN – Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of M.A.N. I’m part of the newly elected executive. So, under that umbrella, we interface with different government agencies, Federal Ministry of Health, NAFDAC, Ministry of Trade, Customs, Ministry of Finance etc. We have an interface under that umbrella with the government just to let them know what we have the capacity to do locally from time to time.
That’s very good. As you said, Prof. herself is doing well. That’s a very good recommendation coming from you. In the drug management and regulation process, which NAFDAC is part of. Who else is involved in the drug management? Is it the hospitals or is it the pharmacists?
Well, you know, when it comes to drug management and regulation, there are so many stakeholders. NAFDAC is a stakeholder, the biggest stakeholder. Even the manufacturers, community pharmacists, hospital pharmacists, pharmacy council of Nigeria etc., all are stakeholders. So, we have a lot of stakeholders.
Okay, so the question here is, as it relates to Drugfield as an organization, what have you done or what are you doing to push for the best practice in that area of drug management and regulation process?
You know, as a responsible organization, Drugfield has to comply with the rules. And that is why we have quality assurance within the system. We have the regulatory affairs department, and we have quality control. All these units are there to ensure compliance with all the necessary rules and regulations. For example, if a product is supposed to be a controlled drug, we can’t just say we want to send the product to our depots, because it’s a controlled drug. For example, we manufacture Pentazocine injection. It’s a controlled drug, it’s a narcotic analgesic. Unlike every other product, the supply chain distribution has to be monitored, because it’s a controlled drug. So as a responsible company, we need to be part of this. Then where you are taking it to, they also need to keep the records. That’s why I said everybody is a stakeholder to ensure best practices in the drug management and regulation process. The pharmacy shops or the hospitals where you are supplying, also need to take the records because, at the end of the year, you are expected to submit your distribution records to NAFDAC before they give you permits to import another API for the production of that product. So, we have departments within our system that ensure compliance with some of these regulations.
Okay. That takes me to some of the challenges the industry is facing that can be easily identified. You dovetailed into the area of data collection, for which you said keeping records here – in Drugfield, the depots keeping records, the dispensers also keeping records so you can file all of them. Do you find data storage in the pharmaceutical industry challenging now? Or is it getting better with the advent of IT?
Yes, it’s getting better with the advent of IT. You know, data generation in this part of the world is always a challenge. Even as a nation, there are some statistics you would have expected that you have access to. What percentage of so-and-so is available? When you don’t have accurate data about some activities you find it difficult to plan. But with the advent of technology, things are getting better. There are various software available to manage some of these.
So, you can easily reach and get the data you are requesting or requiring.
Yes. I can stand at my table and look at how many of these products I have in my Lagos depot. How many of these products do I have in my Onitsha depot? You know, since everything is being run by software that is synchronized together. Yes. So, with the advent of technology, things are better.
All right! That’s very good. It’s clear. So, as we’re looking at the challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria here, let’s look at the quality of personnel involved. The ones that are coming out now, vis-a-vis the ones that have existed before. I’ve been to some gatherings where some upcoming pharmacists are recognized. You know, they are meant to pass through some rigorous processes. And at the end of the day, being assessed by the advanced… …the Papas in the industry, probably like your vision here and some other ones. What do you see? Is that a challenge now? Is it part of the challenge or is it just one in a million that you have quality pharmacists coming out to join the industry?
Yeah, you know, that is a general challenge in the country, it is not limited to the pharmaceutical industry. But looking at how it affects the pharmaceutical industry, if you go to an average university now, the best materials they produce, the best pharmacists they produce, in 80 to 85% of the cases, will not want to stay in Nigeria. They want to go abroad.-(interjecting)-Don’t go there oo!… I have a question there… Just go on, go on. I’m just trying to be funny.
So, it’s a challenge getting quality hands in the sector. Human capital is a big challenge. One thing, especially for those who are in the technical aspect of the business, is that they are not easily replaceable. If, for example, your quality assurance manager or your production pharmacist tells you he wants to resign, it’s a big problem because of what you had inputted into training him. And to get another person up to that point of professionalism is always a long walk.-(interjecting)-So, they are in short supply. Yeah, I mean, very short supply.
In a discussion with another colleague of mine, I was lamenting that it may get to a point where employing some technical personnel as full-time staff might become impossible for some companies. It may get to a point where they might start taking jobs on a part-time basis. Or maybe in the form of consultancy. For example, a technical person may decide to work for company A on Mondays and company B on Tuesdays etc., because they are in short supply. Another challenge is that new pharmaceutical companies are not springing up, so, the opportunities are also limited because the entry barrier to set up a new plant, given the economic situation of the country, is high. So, there are relatively no new pharmaceutical plants. If you look around, when last did we have a new pharmaceutical factory? Except maybe some existing ones that are re-building or trying to expand. So as a pharmacy student, if few companies could absorb me when I finish my pharmacy degree, why do I want to pursue my career as a production pharmacist? Where do I want to work when I’m through? The workers in Drugfield, do you want to sack them? The workers in this and that company, do you want to sack them to create room to absorb the new graduates who want to join?
Okay, there is a contradictory response here. I would have asked, but now there is a short supply of manpower in that area, giving production pharmacists as a reference point. And now there is another area of concern: lack of vacancies, employment vacancies, assuming there are many of them coming. Can you reconcile that?
Yeah, what I’m saying is, for any production pharmacist who knows his onion, you may not be in the market looking for a job for long, because they – (the production pharmacist) are in high demand. The only challenge, as I’ve said is that new companies are not springing up as expected. Even those who are working full-time in some companies still do a lot of consultancy jobs for some other companies. I don’t know how many production pharmacists we have in Nigeria, but I know the numbers are very few.
Then again, that takes me to a question: how are you planning? you as the pharmaceutical industry, and you again as a manufacturing concern, – part of the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria. How are you trying to make sure you have those-(referenced) limited manpower in the pharmaceutical sector to produce more?
Then coming to your first question, on the one hand, we have a shortage of this day, and on the other hand, we have a lack of vacancies. Well, it depends, there are so many aspects of pharmaceuticals, you understand? I’m not a production pharmacist, I’m into marketing, and some are in regulatory. In regulation, there are different aspects. Some are in hospital pharmacy, community pharmacy, and all the other branches. But some are not easy to come by. So according to what we have and what’s needed, we offer various types of incentives at different levels and times to encourage commitment on their part.
In those days, companies used to take up a seat or two at departments, they sponsored particular projects, and they tried to make their names known. They even give grants to departments, especially like yours, talking about pharmacy. Is that still happening? Is there anything you’re doing? I mean, that’s a number of questions. Do you remember things like that?
Yeah, we still do that, especially with the universities. During the prize-giving day, you’ll see the Professor So-so award for the best student in Pharmaceutics. This award for the best in this and that, etc. Then sometimes you tell them that as a company, your best student in pharmaceutics, for example, would get automatic employment. So it still happens. And some companies have deep relationships with some of these institutions, and that is also helping matters.
Would it be out of place if one suggests that maybe collectively as an industry, you start creating exciting incentives like maybe scholarships, you know, exciting packages like half or full scholarships can help shore up their interest in that aspect of pharmaceutical practice?
You know, an average young man in that area needs to be encouraged. You need to motivate them, an average person who’s just leaving the university most likely is thinking, especially with the economy, about money. Where he’s going to get gainful employment. Maybe he experienced rough times in the university; he doesn’t want to continue with that struggle. So, he might be thinking, okay! Maybe a community pharmacy can easily give me money. This and that can easily give me money. And, I don’t think production pharmacy can give me this kind of quick income I’m looking at. And they’re not looking at the advantages of the short supply of their skills that, that’s the area which would give them the expected remuneration. Another thing is that if you don’t have flair and passion for it, you might not fully excel in that area of pharmacy practice. For example, for a production pharmacist; it’s not just feeling that I studied pharmacy, no! There must be a flair. Like what our MD used to say, he loved pharmaceutics right from school, which is why he ended up being a production pharmacist. So, you must have a strong flair for that to happen. Although, as you have said, one could entice with packages and all that stuff. Yes, it’s possible to entice people into that area of pharmacy.
Let’s look at where your products are most available and where their impacts are most felt. From what we’re saying here, there is a community pharmacy practice; there are other branches too…
I told you we run a depot system. We have 14 depots and we have about 100 sales reps nationwide. We have one or two major distributors that also have hundreds of sales reps, so our products are widely distributed, and they are found everywhere. Hospital pharmacies, Community pharmacies, etc. The products are everywhere. If you want to do a government tender, you see our products there. If the Federal Ministry of Health wants to do any kind of pharmaceutical engagement, our products are there too. So, our products are virtually everywhere. And of course, the highest concentrations are found in the community pharmacies. Those are the ones that are closer to the grassroots. So, community pharmacies, wholesalers, retailers, hospitals etc., our products are there.
Okay, briefly, let’s look at the healthcare delivery system in Nigeria, as it relates to pharmacy or pharmaceutical practice and the industry in general. Do you think the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria is doing enough to ensure a normal healthcare delivery or, do I say, beyond the normal healthcare delivery?
Whether they are doing enough? Yeah, I think so. Although I want to speak not for the industry as a whole, but for the manufacturers. I can say that they are doing enough. Though there are so many factors militating against them, despite all these challenges, one can still say they are doing enough, of course, there is always room for improvement. Take for example, during COVID, none of the pharmaceutical companies shut down in Nigeria, despite the difficulties we all went through. That’s why we kept producing drugs so that Nigerians would have access to drugs. I mean, you need to give kudos to them for that. That’s some effort you know? Considering that you have to generate your power and water by yourself, no access to cheap funds, problems of forex, high tariffs and other myriads of problems the manufacturers face daily. So, despite all these challenges, we are still where we are today. We have to give kudos to them. So, I would say they are doing well, of course, they can do more.
Yes, that’s the area we would go to now. What do you think they can do more, or better than what they’ve done so far?
Well, there are some areas where they can do more, for example, there are some drugs that no company is presently manufacturing locally which I believe some of our local manufacturers could venture into. Steps are also being taken now to start producing API locally. That’s an area we also need to look into. We can also venture into the local manufacturing of vaccines.
But do you have plans for that? Though we hadn’t gotten to that stage, now we’re talking about APIs and companies intending to begin production in that area. Do you have that coming up? I believe you have the capacity to do API locally. And be a manufacturer for manufacturers.
Do you mean Drugfield? Yes, locally? Well, the challenge with that is if you want to go into manufacturing, one of the things you must first consider is what your target market is. Who are you targeting? As it stands today, the total number of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in Nigeria is about 150 active ones. That’s not too encouraging. So, if you set up a multimillion-dollar API plant, you only have a potential 150 customers at the most to start with. There’s no guarantee they will patronize you because the same factor the manufacturers are facing now will play out if it’s cheaper to go and buy in China or India than to come and patronize you. You can’t force me to come and patronize you if I can get my raw materials cheaper abroad. Except there is a government policy that says, okay, you can’t import this. Otherwise going into such business, you need to think twice. Then you have billions of APIs available in the world. Which one do you want to manufacture? For example, if you want to manufacture Artemether Lumefantrine, the question to ask is how many companies manufacture that in Nigeria? Out of that 150, maybe about 30, for example, are manufacturing Artemether Lumefantrine. So, you are limited to that 30. Although you could explore some other African countries provided your prices are right, which may not be the case, because the Chinese, and the Indians, are also there churning out cheaper APIs as a result of government support from their own country. So, at the end of the day, you ask yourself, is it worth the risk? Do you want to do that because of names, or do you want to do it for the benefit of it?
Alright. As we’re talking about grants and probably subventions from home countries. As a pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria, you have reps, right? I’m looking at the industry as a whole. Have you made any kind of representations to the federal government? Citing examples of what happens in other areas. And advancing that as part of the reasons for the lack of competitiveness of our pharmaceutical products.
Yeah, several times at different fora. You know the prohibition list I discussed the other time. If the government can implement that, it will help the local manufacturers a lot. That’s another way of helping the local manufacturers. When they were trying to compile the list, the Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Trade, NAFDAC, Federal Ministry of Finance and PMGMAN were involved. I told you we have an umbrella body. So, we interface with the government from time to time. The truth of the matter is that any serious country that wants to promote local manufacturing needs to take deliberate steps. For instance, between 2019 – 2022, (okay, 2020 and 2021, because of COVID, I couldn’t go) I was in India. The trips were fully funded by the Indian government. During my trip from here to India, my accommodation, feeding and flight, were fully paid for by the Indian government. Why did they do that? They selected companies from all over the world to come and meet their local manufacturers so that we could patronize them. So, you either buy API, finished products or packaging materials from them. People came from Brazil, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, the UK, America and the world over, yes. And they sponsored everybody. There were one-on-one sessions organized for each participant. You submit the profile of your company. If you are into manufacturing, for example, you definitely need more of API, excipients, packaging materials etc. And they would line up API manufacturers to meet with you. And they’re raking in millions of dollars for their manufacturers every year as a result of that. So that is a deliberate step being taken by a country.
So, if Nigeria also wants to help the local manufacturers, there are deliberate steps that they need to take. Another way is by reducing the tariffs manufacturers pay on the importation of API. Can we put zero tariffs on some APIs for example? Can manufacturers get access or be given preferential treatment when it comes to Forex bidding? Can they have access to cheaper loans at a single-digit rate? These are deliberate steps that could be taken by the government.
But amongst all these, I’ve not heard you say that one of your requests borders on maybe subventions, like a subsidy to the pharmaceutical manufacturers, which earlier on you said are obtainable in places like India or China. And this is also the reason they are going deeper and deeper anywhere and competitively too. You didn’t push for such.
Yes, we didn’t push for such because most likely it will not fly. Let me give you an instance. In the past, in this country, maybe during the time of Babangida and after, they used to give export grants. If you exported cocoa, for example, the government would give you a grant for exporting outside Nigeria. That was an incentive but corruption did not allow that to last. People were abusing it. It got to a point the government had to stop it. People who did not export anything would connive with government officials to collect the grants, just like what happened in the Petroleum Subsidy scam in the recent past. They’ll cook documents together and the government would pay. So we don’t even want that. We don’t want to introduce that again in the pharmaceutical sector. It’s a platform for corruption. When you know where you are, you should know what can happen. Any policy that generates a pool of funds in Nigeria is always accompanied by great corruption. So we don’t want that kind of support.
But with bodies like NAFDAC, it should be easier to regulate your activities and be able to know who is cooking the wrong papers to collect money for free. The industry is not so vast after all.
You know, NAFDAC, PCN and all those organizations have their statutory mandates and it’s to ensure the quality of the products, regulate pharmacy practice and all that. Not to get involved in financial grants from government to manufacturers… NAFDAC does not have that mandate. Imagine NAFDAC saying, Okay, Drugfield, you exported 10 million. Why are you claiming 20 million? I don’t think NAFDAC wants to add that to their present responsibilities which are overwhelming already. So, manufacturers are not asking for subventions or subsidies. How many people will the government give subvention to? The petroleum subsidy, education subsidy, electricity subsidy, and others are already an albatross on the government’s neck. So, we don’t want to create another one. Some of the things I’ve mentioned, like reduction in tariffs on API, implementation of the Prohibition list, access to credit at single digit, preference during Forex bidding etc. Those are the things we need. We don’t want anybody that will just dash us money.
The remaining part of this interview comes up in the January/February edition of 2024.
Prepared and Packaged by
ST MYKEL OGBONNAYA
Head of Corporate Affairs
Genmax Communications Limited
