The Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMGMAN) said pharmaceutical products have increased by 300 per cent.
According to the group, the challenges of foreign exchange and the high cost of production are some of the factors responsible for the rise in the prices of drugs.
PMGMAN chairman Oluwatosin Jolayemi said pharmaceutical companies have difficulties accessing foreign exchange.
He told Punch: “Most pharmaceutical products have increased by 300 per cent because of the forex. We do not have the petrochemical industry, and we do not have the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient industry.
“For the API industry to survive, we need a petrochemical industry. The API cannot be easily achieved in Nigeria if we do not have the petrochemical industry because the API inputs that we will need to manufacture are still going to be imported.
“You still need forex, so forex is a major issue that is increasing the cost of drugs in the country.”
