Following the successful commissioning of MedAfrica GMP laboratory at the University of Lagos on May 28, 2024, prominent pharmacists across Nigeria continue to call for more collaboration between the academia and pharmaceutical industry. Leaders of industries, corporate organizations, and heads of professional bodies lend their voice to uplifting GMP lab services in Africa, CEOAFRICA reports.

The President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Prof. Cyril Odianose Usifo, applauded the collaborative efforts of the Acting-Head of the Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology at UNILAG, Dr. Margaret Ilomuanya, at getting the MedAfrica GMP lab – the first in sub-Saharan African universities – installed at the Faculty of Pharmacy.

Noting Ilomuanya’s collaborations with experts from the Center for Biomedical Research in New York and Marty Jeiven’s MedAfrica Foundation USA as well as Fabtech India among other key partners, Usifo said there is more to be done to support Ilomuanya to make the GMP lab project a success to Nigerians. He cited the example of Sir Ike Onyechi who gave N5 million for a 150KVA generator to power the GMP lab.

“I’m sure we will join hands as men of honour to make sure that it’s sustainable,” Usifo said in an interview with CEOAFRICA. “Alpha Pharmacy has donated N5 million for a generator set, other people will join in. And with the support of NAFDAC and other regulatory bodies, it will go to greater heights. It’s good that it’s happening in Nigeria, and we applaud Dr. Margaret Ilomuanya for such great effort; you can see that she’s selfless in her research activities.”

The PSN president advised innovators within the pharmaceutical industry to be determined, tenacious, and selfless in breaking new frontiers. He urged pharma entrepreneurs to remain dogged even when the odds are not in their favour, adding that their efforts will be rewarded in due time. He also tasked industry stakeholders to cooperate to access the best the lab can offer for commercial enterprise.

In his own address, the MD/CEO of Alpha Pharmacy and Stores in Ikeja, Pharm. Sir Ike Onyechi, said the N5 million he gave to purchase a generator to power the GMP facility is a widow’s mite. He urged industry stakeholders to make sacrificial donations that will make the lab a success to everyone. He emphasized that giving has nothing to do with having much, but everything to do with softening the ground for future generations.

“We need to do something more,” Sir Onyechi enthused. “A widow’s mite we contributed to support the completion of the energy part of this project is just a sign of something more we can do. We’ve been supporting UNILAG…and we are still available and ready to partner more…let’s challenge ourselves to find more collaborations.”