Medipool initiative aims at affordable drugs, local pharma growth — Pate

The federal government has unveiled a groundbreaking group purchasing platform named Medipool, aimed at reducing the cost of essential medicines and healthcare products to further energise local pharmaceutical manufacturing across the country.

According to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, the initiative is expected to cut drug prices and boost local pharma manufacturing.

The initiative is structured as a public-private partnership (PPP) and leverages the Federal government’s considerable purchasing power to negotiate favourable prices directly from local manufacturers.

The Minister explained that the approach allows the government to act as a monopsony buyer that will buy at scale to help reduce drug prices, especially for the poor and vulnerable populations.

Pate, who disclosed this in a broadcast on Sunday, described the new scheme as a historic intervention designed to address the rising cost of medicines and consumables that have burdened millions of Nigerian households.

“Medipool is an innovative group purchasing organisation created to shape our domestic market by organising and activating real demand, negotiating competitive pricing, ensuring quality, and enabling efficient supply chain management.

“It will also offer predictable offtake for local manufacturers of essential medicines and healthcare products”, the minister said.

Pate hinted that the Medipool platform will initially serve Nigerians through the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF), which already supports over 37 million citizens accessing services in primary healthcare centres across the country.

“Eventually, Medipool will expand to include Federal tertiary hospitals and the private sector,” he added.

He stated further that the move aligns with broader reforms under the Presidential Initiative to Unlock the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), which seeks to increase Nigeria’s local production of pharmaceutical products to 70 percent of domestic consumption while also boosting employment in the sector to at least 50,000 full-time jobs from the current estimate of 20,000.

“These are not theoretical steps or abstract policies. These are concrete actions we are currently implementing,” he stressed.

Pate, while emphasizing the critical role played by President Bola Tinubu in creating an enabling environment for local manufacturing, cited the June 2024 Executive Order, which provided tariff waivers on raw materials for pharmaceutical production and other essential health products.

In the Minister’s words: “That giant step encouraged international financiers to look towards Nigeria. The European Investment Bank has identified significant opportunities in local medical supplies manufacturing.

“Similarly, AfriExim Bank has earmarked at least $1 billion to facilitate supply-side growth in pharmaceuticals, biologics, and essential medical devices in Nigeria.”

He, however, underlined the importance of not just increasing supply but also stimulating domestic demand to ensure a well-balanced, sustainable ecosystem for health product manufacturing.

“If we get this right and regulate it appropriately, Nigeria will not only build a healthier healthcare market but also play a leading role in shaping healthcare outcomes across the African continent,” he assured.

The minister explained that among the tangible results of the new strategy is the recently inaugurated Codex Bio Ltd Rapid Diagnostic Test Kit Production Complex in Ogun State, adding that the plant is expected to produce over 147 million test kits annually for diseases such as HIV, malaria, and hepatitis.

Pate acknowledged that Codex Bio had become the first African manufacturing partner under the World Health Organisation’s Health Technology Access Pool (HTAP), in partnership with SD Biosensor of South Korea and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP).

“This is a transformative leap for Nigeria, it positions Codex Bio at the forefront of rapid diagnostic test production in Africa and strengthens global health security,” he added.

The Minister also mentioned the newly commissioned Beta-lactam facility in Lagos, developed by Jawa Investments Ltd, as another major milestone, stressing that the facility will produce essential antibiotics like amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, bringing Nigeria closer to self-sufficiency and potentially lowering costs for consumers.

“These developments are being driven by Nigeria’s resilient private sector,” he declared, citing other upcoming ventures such as the Emsos Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) plant, Fitsins Pharmaceuticals expansion, Naseni Fromant Diagnostics, and Ash Biomedical.

Pate added “These efforts reflect the entrepreneurial spirit Nigerians are known for. They are responding to policy reforms that the federal government has undertaken.”

The Minister reiterated the administration’s commitment to transforming the health sector into a catalyst for national development, added, “All of this is possible because we elected a President who understands business and prioritizes health as a core pillar for the development of our nation.”

Pate also commended his cabinet contemporaries for their support, including Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, and Ministers Jumoke Oduwole and Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, for their collaboration under President Tinubu’s vision.