Leading and publicly traded Nigerian pharmaceutical company, Fidson Healthcare Plc, recently made a major leap toward addressing Nigeria’s pharmaceutical needs by entering into an agreement with the American company, GB Pharma Holdings.
The business agreement is expected to provide Fidson with the guidance it needs to establish its foothold within the US and to develop strategic relationships with other business entities (i.e., US Pharmacopoeia [USP], Constituency for Africa, Presidential Emergency Plan for Aids Relief [PEPFAR], UNAIDS and Howard University), to name a few.
USP will, however, be the most critical, as it will insure Fidson’s growth by helping it sustain U.S. and international standards.
Founded in 1820, the scientific non-profit organization will share with Fidson, its expertise by overseeing the identity, strength, quality and purity of medicines, food ingredients and dietary supplements that Fidson will manufacture and distribute.
Besides its strategic engagement with USP, Fidson is also positioning itself with PEPFAR and UNAIDS, in order to become a viable supplier/manufacturer of antiretroviral therapy for HIV positive patients within and outside of Nigeria.
Relationships with organizations such as CFA and Howard University College of Pharmacy will aid Fidson at stretching its influence and spearheading its collaborative efforts to cover African-American/African Diaspora healthcare.
With the support of GB Pharma Holdings, Immune Therapeutics Incorporation [OTCQB: IMUN], and American Hospitals & Resorts, Fidson will gain exclusive distribution rights to the internationally recognized immune therapy LodonalTM [Low Dose Naltrexone]. It is expected that such collaboration will bring global recognition to Fidson’s pharmaceutical enterprise.
Dr. Fidelis Akhagboso Ayebae, Fidson’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, in twenty years as head honcho, has turned his company into a leading Nigerian pharmaceutical company, publicly traded with annual US earnings of $60.5 million.
This has made it one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria, and positioned it securely for global expansion.
“My goal is to provide Nigerians with affordable pharmaceuticals of excellent quality at affordable prices. I am very confident that working with USP will help me achieve this end,” Dr. Ayebae said.
To prepare for major growth, Dr. Ayebae has invested $55 million into building a six-line pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Osun State, Nigeria. It the largest and most expansive in all of Africa.
The new plant is expected to more than double production and expand Fidson’s outreach into Nigeria and Africa.
Dr. Gloria B. Herndon, President and CEO of GB Pharma Holdings of Washington, DC, will assist in this growth. Positioned to provide affordable and sustainable healthcare solutions throughout Africa, she will be a behind-the-scenes catalyst that will offer specialized expertise and outreach into helping Fidson develop its pharmaceutical market.
“Our business arrangement will provide Dr. Ayebae with access to a variety of our products that are approved by the Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control’s regulatory body,” Dr. Herndon said.
“This includes the LodonalTM discovered by Dr. Bernard Bihari in the 1980s. This low-dose Naltrexone has a proven to be a true wonder drug for combating HIV and other immune system diseases. This particular drug is not only innovative but it is also economically sustainable at about a $1 per day. As a result, we believe it will save many lives in Africa”
“Dr. Ayebae and I both share the same core values. He not only supports excellence, but he is also an ethical leader who has created a world-class company. His plant in Nigeria is the best I have ever seen in Africa – and even in the world. We both believe our union will contribute to strengthening the ties between the U.S. and Nigeria.
“It will be in the same spirit of collaboration that U.S. President Barack Obama and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari have already discussed in the past,” Dr. Herndon concluded.
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