NAFDAC DG- hike in price of drugs not because of GSK exit

Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye says the exit of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) pharmaceutical company from

Nigeria is not the reason for the increase in prices of drugs in the country.

She said this against the backdrop of assumptions that the exit of GSK had affected the prices of drugs in the country on Friday in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that GSK, a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, in August announced plans to shut down its operations in the country.

The company had operated for 51 years in Nigeria,  had  been incorporated in June 1971 and commenced business the following year.

Adeyeye said:  “The first reason for the increment in the prices of drugs is that the value of naira has depreciated.

“Before the planned exit of GSK from the country, prices of commodities generally have gone up and some of the products GSK produced has decreased.

“From the regulatory perspective, we encourage local manufacturing and GSK has collaborated with local manufacturers. So it is not like they import everything.

“The issue of foreign exchange is huge for some of the multinational companies.

“They generate funds and it becomes difficult to repatriate the money back to their parent company where other developments will take place.”