…as GSK, Sanofi announce exit
The prices of antibiotics have skyrocketed to unprecedented levels, leaving patients reeling as major drugmakers abandon the production of these essential medications in Nigeria.
Between 2019 and 2023, a pack of 500-milligram Ampiclox capsules recorded the highest jump, with the cost price increasing by 1,390 percent and the selling price increasing by 1,100 percent, shows a new report released by SBM Intelligence, a research consulting and data analytics firm.
A pack of 500-milligram Amoxil capsules grew the fastest among all the medicines analysed, with the selling price jumping by 456 percent between 2022 and 2023.
Antibiotics are medicines used to treat bacterial infections. A 2017 research by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) also found that up to 71 percent of children under five are administered antibiotics without prescription, and 42 percent of adults misuse antibiotics – a practice that has resulted in Africa’s emergence as the continent with the highest burden of antimicrobial-resistant infections.
In August 2023, GlaxoSmithKline, a British multinational pharmaceutical company that manufactures these drugs, ceased its operations in Nigeria, ending a 51-year-old history of doing business there.
Also in November, Sanofi, a French pharmaceutical multinational announced plans to exit and adopted a third-party distribution model to continue product supply in Nigeria.
“This may be due to the continued demand for antibiotics, which led the manufacturers to use this as leverage and pass on increased production costs to the consumers,” the report states.
On a year-on-year basis, the cost price of Ampiclox recorded the highest rate of increase between 2022 and 2023, jumping by 346 percentage points.
The price of Levoxin, a brand of antibiotics produced by Evans, remained constant at its 2022 levels following a 36 percent increase in cost price between 2021 and 2022.
An analysis of the data also showed that the cost price grew at a faster pace than the selling price – a common theme that occurred in the other medicine categories.
“This also means that manufacturers increased their prices, and the retailers could not raise prices at the same rate to avoid losing customers,” SBM Intelligence stated.
“A situation where this occurs means that the retailers’ profit margins dropped over the years; an important factor when considering the ease of doing business in Nigeria.”
Antimalarial drugs saw the slowest price increases in the period under review.
The 2022-2023 period recorded the biggest price increases, a testament to the changing economic climate.
Among all the medications considered, only one (Novalgin) in the painkiller category has maintained its 2022 price in 2023, following a 25 percent increase in price in 2022.
Citing Boladele Silva, a pharmaceutical professor at the University of Lagos, the report stated that Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry is highly exposed to shocks from foreign exchange volatility.
