Oxymoronic! Or how do you describe a contradictory expression like the above? How can “low price” be said to be “bad?” But this is the current reality in Nigeria’s pharmacy industry in where stakeholders are not happy about a proposed price crash intervention.
A litany of controversy
Reactions have been rife among leaders in the industry. While a few, including malariologist, Prof (Mrs) Fagbenro Beyioku of College of Medicine, University of Lagos have thrown their support for the initiative, many others are opposed to it. To Prof Beyioku, the news is a welcome development for anyone that is “pro-human”.
But dealers in pharmaceuticals, especially manufacturers and importers of ACTs, disagree. The MD of Geneith, Emmanuel Umenwa thinks the initiative could signal the end of their businesses, while Pemason’s Patrick Osele feels it does not take the peculiarity of African nations into consideration. For Obiora Chukwuka, chairman of Greenlife, the good intention is only ruined by its poor timing.
The contentious intervention
The collaboration between the Global Fund and six manufacturers of quality-assured malaria drugs hopes to place affordable life-saving malaria drugs within reach of millions of people in need the world over, especially children. This would give Nigerians and others within Sub-Sahara Africa and Asia full access to cheaper and more effective antimalaria drugs.
Nigeria is among the nine pilots earmarked for the public-private collaboration of the Affordable Medicines Facility-malaria (AMFm) Phase 1, which also included Cambodia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda.
Six manufacturers have signed Master Supply Agreements with the Global Fund under the AMFm: Ajanta Pharma, Cipla, Guilin, Ipca, Novartis and Sanofi-aventis. None of these is Nigerian owned and only four of these (Cipla-Evans, Ipca, Novartis and Sanofi-aventis) have their presence in the country, a development many others are not happy about.
