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Nigerian Pharmacists to Fight Drug Import Ban

May 18, 2005

A recent ban on the importation of 17 leading drug products, imposed by Nigerian regulator NAFDAC, has provoked condemnation from the local retail sector. The claims focus on reports that the bans are intended to boost the local manufacturing industry, possibly at the expense of consumer safety.

More than 200 drug import firms have been blacklisted by NAFDAC since 2001, leading to fears that the local industry may shortly be unable to supply resulting gaps in supply for basic medicines such as paracetemol.

The share of local producers in Nigeria's US$300mn drug market is estimated at only 20%, and this may be even lower in OTC products. Further, as Nigeria hopes to shortly introduce a basic national health insurance system, such efforts may be undermined by regulatory activity that would lead to a rise in average drug prices. It appears Nigerian officials have to cooperate on their ambitions for the domestic industry in a country that effectively remains a copier's paradise.