Hammed Shittu in Ilorin
Worried by the rising cost of drugs in the country, a university don at the Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Sciences, University of Ilorin, Professor Isaac Aremu, at the weekend urged the federal government to grant a five years tax waiver to willing investors in the drug manufacturing sector in the country in order to crash down the rising prices of drugs.
Speaking in Ilorin while delivering the 252nd inaugural lecture of the university titled “Drug Formulation as Essential Construct for Safe Delivery,” Aremu who is from Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Sciences stated that “the pharmaceuticals industries in Nigeria heavily rely on imported raw materials, with estimates suggesting that over 70 per cent of raw materials used in the production of medicines are imported.
“More worrisome recently is the exit of some pharmaceutical like GSK, Sanofi, Procter and Gamble etc. from the country.
“Cost of some essentials medicines like antibiotics, life-saving anti-asthmatic drugs have gone up astronomically beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians.”
Aremu also advocated the setting up of herbal centre in the university medical centre or the Faculty of Pharmacy to provided health services.
“The establishment of pharmaceutical raw materials manufacturing industries, where synthetic and herbal raw materials can be processed for sale of finished products of manufacturing industries cannot be over emphasised.
“Tax waiver for at least five years should be guranteed willing investors,” he said.
