尼日利亚努力发展制药业

在尼日利亚，近几十年来对草药的种植、使用和研究已经越来越普及，而且人们这方面的认识也在不断增强。尼日利亚卫生部还专门下设了管理传统医药的部门。在过去的53年里，它为尼日利亚制药产业深化发展提供有力的政策支持。

以当地植物和动物为原料进行药品生产的历史可以追溯到1966年，当时尼日利亚卫生部曾授权一所大学对尼日利亚当地植物的药用价值和加工方法展开研究。这种研究一直持续到20世纪70年代，并在80年代成为一项非常重要的学术研究，对尼日利亚地方医药产业的进一步发展起到了很大的推动作用。尼日利亚对提升本地植物的药用价值的重视也极大地促进了医药行业的进步。

但是，时至今日，当地医药人才的培养仍未满足产业发展的需要。例如，在尼日利亚的近200所大学里，开设药学课程的只有21所，与之形成对比的是，设有内科和外科专业的大学则超过了40所。

2017年4月，当地媒体报道，“为了提高其对国家经济的贡献，尼日利亚制药行业将本土生产的年增长率目标定为12%到15%。”目前，本土生产在国内生产总值（GDP）的占比不到1%，为了实现既定目标，政府正在制定具体的计划和时间表。

本土生产的比率仍然很低

迄今为止，当地制药行业为国家经济发展贡献的经济价值微乎其微，而且这一现象仍未得到真正改善。

八年前，联合国工业发展组织（UNIDO）就在其调研后指出，“当前，尼日利亚全国共有约130个制药企业，其中5家本土企业控制着58%的药品销售。从可获得的业绩数据中可以看出，这些企业的经营状况很差，产能利用率仅有40%。国产药只能满足药品总需求的25%，其余75%全部需要进口，主要是从亚洲国家进口。而且在尼日利亚制药公司销售的药品中，约70%的原料也是进口的。

2013年，尼日利亚的药品进口总额为4.81亿美元，到2018年，已达到7.89亿美元。全球制药行业正在快速发展，生产总值预计达13000亿美元，可是尼日利亚却并未跻身于17个该行业认定的发展市场。

联合国工业发展组织在调研报告中还指出，“尼日利亚医药市场面临的主要挑战包括假冒药品、医疗基础设施薄弱以及百姓的支付能力有限。

药品仍然依赖进口

虽然政府努力扩大国内生产，但尼日利亚的药品仍需严重依赖进口。2004年修订后的国家药品政策（NDP）制定了到2008年国内药品生产将满足国家70%需要的目标。按照这一政策，政府对基础药物的本土生产给予了大力支持。十五年来，这一政策从未改变，可是政府期待的尼日利亚药品生产可自给自足的局面却一直没有实现。

不过，虽然现状并不令人满意，但根据国际金融公司提供的数据，自2001年以来，尼日利亚的药品生产始终保持每年10%到15%的增长速度。而且，一些当地的制药企业也正在改造更新设备和设施，努力达到世界卫生组织的预审资格和其对药品生产管理规范的要求。如果能达标的话，企业就能够将在尼日利亚本土生产的药品出口到西非经济共同体国家以及其他国家。此外，一旦通过资格预审，本地制造商还可以参与世界上其他国家发起的国际采购招标。

尼日利亚政府过去和现在一直致力于实现一个宏伟的目标，即到2020年使尼日利亚步入世界前二十大经济体行列。毫无疑问，这一愿景将对国家所有行业产生积极影响，包括当地的医药产业。而且，联合国工业发展组织认为，这一目标的实现也能提升尼日利亚人的药品购买力。不过，到目前为止，这一切都只停留在理论预测阶段。

自2017年以来，中国就是尼日利亚进口商品的主要来源国，每年的贸易额约为175亿美元。由于尼日利亚70%的药品需从海外各市场采购，因此从中国进口的药品数量也会很大，甚至可能是数量最大的。

但这也让尼日利亚人普遍担心，进口到尼日利亚的假冒伪劣药品中60%都来自中国。出于对中国药品质量的担忧，尼日利亚国家食品药品监督管理局（NAFDAC）在已故教授多拉·阿库尼利的领导下，与中国的相关机构就从中国出口到尼日利亚的药品质量检查达成协议。按照这份2006年签署的协议，中国著名的制药公司，天士力医药集团股份有限公司不仅因其生产的药品高质量而闻名，而且公司在尼日利亚业务范围广泛，因此双方共同决定由天士力公司承担起所有进口药品结算机构的责任。尼日利亚认为，这一做法能够对药品质量起到监督整治的作用。

鼓励外国投资

去年，尼日利亚医药协会遗憾地宣布，全国药品消费中仍有70%需要依靠进口。这对当地制药企业来说不是好消息，但对未来在这一领域吸引投资却是一个极好的机会。

在此之前，2014年医药协会也曾做过预测，到2018年，需要进口的药品价值会达到7.89亿美元。与2013年4.75亿美元的进口药品额相比，药品贸易的赤字进一步加大了。这的确让人失望，因为虽然政府为发展本土生产提供了许多激励措施，可是进口药物与当地自产药物间的差距却一点也没有缩小。

不过，从营商环境看，尼日利亚却是所有外商投资制药业的沃土。与此同时，中国对向非洲和其他地区直接投资的热度逐步增长，而尼日利亚显然是一个具有巨大市场和投资机会的国家。在尼日利亚从事药品生产完全不用担心产成品的销售，因为当地有足够的消费能力，生产商很难满足市场的需要。

尼日利亚为外国投资者提供了激励政策，同时尼日利亚又是一个拥有1.8亿消费者的市场，这些对吸引外商投资都极具吸引力。虽然尼日利亚存在着电力供应不足等不利因素，但政府对投资的大力支持完全可以弥补它们造成的损失，让投资者享受到更大的收益。

此外，尼日利亚培养药剂师及其他相关专业人材的大学还为国家储备了大量的熟练劳动力，他们可以娴熟地操作各种设备。相信在国际领先技术人才的指导下，他们能够在本土市场得到很好的发展。

令人鼓舞的是，制药业是尼日利亚政府鼓励投资的重点行业，并且对国内国外投资者一视同仁，他们可以得到的优惠待遇没有区别。也就是说，尼日利亚对外国投资者在尼日利亚从事药品制造持开放欢迎的态度，并且确保这些投资者能大有收获。

这意味着投资者们应当充分利用这一机会，特别是考虑到作为非洲最大的经济体国家，尼日利亚在医疗卫生和制药领域还存在着明显的差距。中国作为尼日利亚的一个重要投资国，完全可以在这一领域大有作为。

尼日利亚南部地处热带，属于赤道雨林的植被区。这一地理位置具有很大的优势，因为众所周知，从生态学角度看，热带雨林意味着丰富的生物多样性，而多品种的动植物为药品的加工提供了大量的原料。

同时，它也为尼日利亚动植物的药用研究创造了非常好的机会，而研究成果无疑可以进一步扩大医药行业的生产规模，提升生产能力。中国在传统医学的研究和实践方面都有着悠久和丰富的历史，将其宝贵的经验与尼日利亚当地物种的研究结合起来，将促进尼日利亚制药产业向更深更广发展。

英文版

Nigeria Endeavors to Develop Its Pharmaceutical Industry

By Ikenna Emewu  For China Investment  Editor-in-Chief of the AFRI-CHINA MEDIA CENTRE Nigeria

Medicinal plants, uses and research in Nigeria have been fad and growing awareness for decades. In fact, the Nigerian federal government’s health ministry has department for traditional medicine and that has been an addition to the development and deepening of the pharmaceutical sub-sector of the Nigerian healthcare sector in the past 53 years.

The history of local pharmaceutical production expansion leveraging on local plants and animal species dates back to 1966 when the federal Ministry of Health authorized a university to carry out research on medicinal values and uses of plants in the country.

That signaled the beginning of a formal legislation promoting traditional medicine, especially pharmacy. The efforts that continued through the 1970s and had become an issue for serious academic discourse in the 1980s gave a great boost to the development and deepening of the local pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria.

That interest in elevating and adding value to medicinal plants in Nigeria gave a great impetus to the development of the local pharmaceutical sector.

However, even today, the growth of the sector regarding local pharmaceutical production hasn’t been at the pace of the legislative inputs. For instance, only 21 universities of close to 200 universities in Nigeria offer pharmacy as course of study in the diverse departments, compared to over 40 that offer medicine and surgery.

In April 2017, the local media reported that; ‘Local manufacturing arm of the pharmaceutical sector in Nigeria is targeting an annual growth rate of 12 to 15 per cent to improve its contributions to the economy.

The sub-sector, which currently accounts for less than one per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is designing a marshal plan with timelines to achieve the objective.’

Local production still low
However, till date, that paltry depth in the economic value the local pharmaceutical industry adds to the nation’s economy hasn’t really improved.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization, UNIDO, eight years ago found in its research work that; ‘Today, there are about 130 pharmaceutical firms operating in the country and 5 indigenous companies control 58 percent of the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products. Available performance indices for the sector suggests poor performance; capacity utilization is 40 per cent, the sector is only able to satisfy 25 per cent of the local demand for drugs while imports mainly from Asian countries account for the remaining 75 per cent, about 70 percent of the drugs marketed by pharmaceutical firms in Nigeria are imported.

As at 2013, pharmaceutical imports reached a value of $481m and were estimated to reach $789m by 2018. The global pharmaceutical sector is growing rapidly and is expected to more than double to $1.3 trillion but Nigeria does not feature among the identified 17 growth markets in the sector. The contribution of the sector to gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009 was just about 0.19 percent.’

According to UNIDO also; ‘The key challenges confronting Nigeria’s pharmaceutical market include counterfeit medicines, poor healthcare infrastructure and the limited spending power of citizens. The pharmaceutical market was estimated to be worth US$ 600 million in 2009 and should grow substantially at around 12 per cent year-on-year to reach US$ 717 million by 2011.

Still dependent on import
‘Despite government efforts to promote domestic manufacturing, Nigeria remains heavily reliant on imported pharmaceuticals. The revised National Drug Policy (NDP) (2004) set a target for 70 per cent (in volume) of the country’s demand for medicines to be met by local drug manufacturers by 2008. Consequently, government policies support local production of essential medicines in accordance with the NDP. Although this policy hasn’t changed, the returns according to expectations that Nigeria would be self-sufficient in pharmaceutical manufacturing are yet to be actualized 15 years after.

Not minding the shortfall, ‘the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector has experienced a steady annual growth of 10 per cent to 15 per cent since 2001 (IFC). Furthermore, some local drug manufacturers are currently upgrading their facilities to comply with WHO prequalification and WHO cGMP requirements. If successful, this will enable them to promote the export of medicines manufactured locally in Nigeria to ECOWAS countries and beyond. In addition, once prequalified, local manufacturers will be able to participate in international procurement tenders called by international development partners.

Government in Nigeria in the past and till present had embarked on an ambitious agenda to become one of the top 20 economies of the world by the year 2020. Undoubtedly, such an initiative will impact positively on the whole industrial sector, including local production of pharmaceuticals, and will also boost Nigerians’ purchasing power to acquire medicines,’ UNIDO found. But that has been only theoretical projection till present.

Since 2017, China has been Nigeria’s major source of commodity import with trade volume of about USD17.5b per year at present. Since 70 percent of the general volume of pharmaceutics is imported from all markets, it follows also that the volume of pharmaceutics imported into Nigeria from China is also very high and possibly the highest.

This also fuels the common notion in the Nigerian market that 60 percent of fake and substandard drugs imported into Nigeria come from China. The concern over quality of drugs from China made the National Agency for Foods, Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC, under the leadership of late Prof. Dora Akunyili to enter into an agreement with the Chinese counterpart agency on checking drug quality from China into Nigeria. The 2006 agreement had Tianshi, a prominent Chinese pharmaceutical company that has so much presence in Nigeria and known for top quality drugs to act as the intermediary clearing agency for all drugs imports. Nigeria believed that the arrangement worked to clean up the system.

Foreign investment incentives
Last year, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria lamented that the nation still imported 70 percent of her pharmaceutical consumption, which signifies bad tale for local production and also an opportunity for further investment in this regard.

Prior to this, the same society in 2014 also forecasted that $789m worth of pharmaceutics would be imported by 2018, thereby widening the country’s pharmaceutical trade deficit from the $475 million it posted in 2013. This discouraging alarm was widely reported in the Nigeria media. And true to the fears, the gap in the volume of imported pharmaceutics has not narrowed at all compared to that of the local production even with the incentives to encourage more local production.

For business possibility, Nigeria is still a fertile ground for investors in pharmaceutics from every foreign investor, and with China’s growing interest in foreign direct investment in Africa and other worlds, the country has a great market investing in Nigeria. A drug producer in Nigeria would never worry with the rigours of exporting the products because there is enough consumption power locally that the producer would hardly meet the market demand.

The general encouraging incentives, the ready market for the products from about 180m consumers will definitely drive a positive market for foreign investors in the sector. The gains far outweigh some downsides of poor electricity supply because the government lifelines would mean so much positive latitude for such investment.

Moreover, the large pool of skilled manpower turned out by the universities that train pharmacists and other related experts would provide enough affordable labour to run the facilities and with some more advanced foreign hands there would assure a virile exchange that in the long run enhances manpower development for the local market.

It is quite encouraging that pharmaceutical local production is one of the sectors the government gives great incentives to investors as encouragement. These investors’ benefits don’t discriminate between foreign and local and that implies that Nigeria is open to foreigners coming to produce their pharmaceutics in Nigeria with ample benefits.

This means that opportunities exist for investors to take advantage of, especially in the gap noticeable in the health and pharmaceutical sector in Africa’s largest economy. China being one of the major investors in Nigeria has a goldmine waiting in this sector to be explored.

The southern part of Nigeria falls within the tropics and with the equatorial rainforest vegetation region. This is a big advantage as the rainforest is known ecologically to have the highest biodiversity index with very high variety indices of plants and animals that have potential for drugs on processing.

This also provides great opportunity in Nigeria for medicinal plants/animal research whose outcome would further enrich the pharmaceutical sector for further production. And China being a world with a long and rich history of traditional medicine practice, study and research will find a good blend conducting local researches on the Nigerian species and enriching the pharmaceutical production possibilities.