The Principal Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) investigator and Acting Head of Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology at UNILAG, Dr. Margaret Ilomuanya, has led academicians, dignitaries and stakeholders in the pharmaceutical industry on a tour to the newly commissioned GMP Laboratory Facility. This was upon the commissioning of the first of its kind in Sub-Sahara Africa on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.

The facility is a high-tech hub, digitally secured and customized for the use of various pharmaceutical companies. The GMP lab will enable the Faculty of Pharmacy to partner with pharmaceutical companies to research and create innovative medical products that will put Nigeria and Africa in the global limelight.

According to Ilomuanya, the lab will guarantee that all pharmaceutical products manufactured in Nigeria adhere to the highest quality standards before they are marketed for general use, stressing that it will facilitate the production of healthcare products for Africa, by Africans, and from African institutions. The products will range from food, cosmetics, to medical drugs.

“Pharmaceutical industries can work with the academia to solve problems such as making medicines more bio-available, or taking herbal medicines to forms that can compete with conventional medicines. That is why this facility is here. It means that we can have innovative products that emanate from the University [of Lagos] that will go to the markets in Nigeria, Africa, and around the world,” Ilomuanya stated.

In explaining the benefits of the GMP Lab to UNILAG and the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria, Ilomuanya said the benefits to Africa are immense.

While leading the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic & Research), Prof. Bolanle Oboh, and other academics and public dignitaries on a tour of the GMP lab, Ilomuanya disclosed that the facility is ready for pilot production of drugs that could be certified for clinical trials and products that are ready for human use.

She stated that, “We have within this facility the capacity for research, quality assurance, and pilot production. You can see that all our systems are fully-automated, all our processes are highly-passworded – so if we go into partnership with pharma industries, they will be assured that their products are going through the best of systems. By the best of systems – we mean document control, work instructions, and facility management.”

In appreciating her collaborators for the success of the GMP lab project, Ilomuanya expressed gratitude to the Founder and President of Jeiven Pharmaceutical Consulting (USA), Marty Jeiven, for funding the project to the tune of $450,000 through the MedAfrica Foundation USA.

She appreciated the Population Council in New York, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, NAFDAC, Fabtech India, and a host of others for their collaborations.