Towards bridging the gap in pharmaceutical supply chain and ensuring availability of medicines to the Nigerian populace, the Founder/Chairman, Safe Medicines Foundation and CEO, Pharmaplus Nigeria, Pharm. Ahmed I. Yakasai, has disclosed the intention of the company to collaborate with the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA).
Yakasai, who is the Honorary Consul-General of Pakistan in Nigeria, and a former president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, made the statement during his recent visit to the Director General, NNMDA, Prof. Martins Emeje, as he used the opportunity to tour the facility.
Acknowledging the passion and dedication of the NNMDA’s team to natural medicine research and development, the Pharmaplus boss commended their commitment to quality and innovation demonstrated at every step of the production process.
“Your state-of-the-art facilities and adherence to international standards reflect a commitment to excellence that is truly inspiring.
“Surely, Pharmaplus Nigeria Ltd will take some of the patented and registered products for commercialisation, from Lab to market”, he pledged.
In his response, Prof. Emeje expressed his delight in the facility visit, stating that the agency has an important national priority and of critical national security significance to the people indigenous to Nigeria, as it is given a mandate of documentation, research, development, growth and exploitation of Nigeria's indigenous system of health innovation towards a greater self-sustainability and reliability in health and for assurance of national health security.
According to Emeje, “Nigerian government in its wisdom articulated its development plan of Traditional Nigerian Medicine (TNM) by the establishment of the Nigeria Natural Medicines Development Agency (NNMDA) and as a demonstration of its commitment to national development in this sector granted it a parliamentary act of establishment.
“Strategically, the agency was placed under the Ministry of Innovation Science and technology to ensure rapid research and development of our indigenous health systems. This was also in consideration of the fact that this very important sector and facet of our heritage is at the development stage”.
