FOLLOWING the efforts of the federal government to ensure proper regulation of food and drug in the country, the Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii, has said that the agency will soon close down open- market pharmaceutical industries in the country starting from July 2014. 

    Orhii said this during commissioning of pharmaceutical facility, built by Worldwide Commercial Ventures Limited, held in Matori, Lagos, on Tuesday.

   Orhii said: “This pharmaceutical facility came at the right time when federal government has ordered to close down every open- market pharmaceutical industries in the country. From July 2014, we are going to close down the open-market pharmaceutical industries. You know drugs are chemicals. If you have them in an open place sometimes they react.”

    Orhii congratulated Commercial Ventures Limited, on their efforts to build new pharmaceutical facility. “I am very happy when I heard the industry would build more facilities across the country.  Worldwide Commercial Ventures Limited has responded as good corporate citizens to the need of Nigerians at the time we need it most. They have responded to the federal government directive. I believe the new pharmaceutical facility, would favor all Nigerians. I believe it has a potential to reap new benefits,” he said.    

    The NAFDAC DG continued: “There is no any other country you can see an open- market pharmaceutical industry and Nigeria is not going to be exempted”.   

    The Managing Director, Worldwide Commercial Ventures Limited, Mr. Ananth Narayan, said the gesture was to meet up with standard of pharmaceuticals industries in Europe, America; and other countries in the world. 

   Narayan said: “To invest into pharmaceutical industry is very difficult, and also to manage it is a very big challenge. We have been doing it for past 12 years and ever since then, we have been making efforts to meet up to standard of pharmaceuticals industries in Europe, America, and other countries in the world. We have been making efforts to have good pharmaceutical logistics. Investing into pharmaceutical in Nigeria is not an easy thing, sometimes it takes three or four years to get benefits from investments. Some time we partnership with other companies to support us in order to sale market. We need the efforts of regulatory body to control pharmaceutical business in Nigeria.”   

   He continued: “We spent a lot of money at the end of the month, just for diesel and it is affecting the business to move forward. If we can have good generating power, Nigeria pharmaceutical industries would be the best in the world. We also need water to carry out our activities, when needed because most times, we do not have enough water. 

   “Nigeria has been a very good country to invest, because in some other African countries many of them, find it difficult to speak English language, but in Nigeria it is very simply. But I believe with patience; things will get better in Nigeria.”

     Narayan informed, that the facility caused almost N70 million to set up. “We also have good equipments to ensure the industry does not break-up and to meet up with standard operating systems in line with pharmacy requirements. We also in line with the regulatory body requirements; you will not expect to make profits, without meet up to the required procedures. If government can make a very great policy on drugs distribution, believe me, Nigeria will be a very good market for investment like Europe, America and other foreign countries”, he said.