FG plans 435 clinical trial centres, projects $3.8bn revenue

The Federal Government plans to establish 435 clinical research centres across the country by 2028, with the target to generate $3.8bn in revenue from clinical trial activities.

The National Coordinator of the Presidential Unlocking Healthcare Value Chain Initiative, Abdu Muktar, made this disclosure during a panel session titled, “Is the Market Ready for Increased Local Manufacturing of Medicines?” at the Nigeria Economic Summit.

A clinical trial is a medical study in humans conducted to determine the efficacy and safety of a drug or medical device.

Muktar stated that the establishment of these centres would require an investment of approximately $770m, adding that the government was already identifying the locations to site the centres.

He said discussions were ongoing with Contract Research Organisations to ensure demand for the centres once established.“We’ve done a business case; we just concluded with an organisation called Purpose Africa.

We are projecting to establish 435 clinical trial centres in Nigeria. It’s going to cost about $770m to get it done by 2028.

“But what is interesting is the revenue that can potentially be generated from that and the number of jobs. In terms of revenue, we’re projecting to raise about $3.8bn into the country from clinical trial activities.

“We’re talking to the people who are demanding to have these centres established. So for $3.8bn revenue, if you invest $770m, that means you’re potentially raising $5m for one dollar that you invest,” the national coordinator said.

He also noted the progress made in genomic research, referring to the recent launch of a major international genomic centre in Ede, Osun State.

The centre was inaugurated with genomic experts, including Kristen Happi and Francis Collins, former director of the United States National Institutes of Health and leader of the Human Genome Project.

“We held extensive discussions on how Nigeria can become a global hub for genomics, leveraging the new centre in Ede as a foundation,” Muktar said.

He added that the government was developing a single platform for pooled procurement of healthcare products in order to reduce costs and ensure the accessibility of essential medicines.

Muktar said the government was in the process of designing the procurement platform using a Public-Private Partnership framework which would adopt successful international models of pooled procurement to fit Nigeria’s context.

“The President has given us a go-ahead, we’re currently designing this. This has worked in some parts of the world, but we’re bringing it to Nigeria.

“It’s one platform; it is not an agency or anything. It’s just a platform that will bring everybody together: federal government, the states, manufacturers, and health insurance agencies, among others,” he explained.

During the session, a consultant with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Funke Falade, enthused that clinical trial activities would increase over the next few years in Nigeria and Africa because of agitation within the international environment about the representation of Africans in clinical research and trials.

Falade also highlighted that the government of Nigeria has come up with a strong strategy for improving the clinical trial ecosystem.

She, however, noted that the potential of the strategy dovetailing into drug discovery was still uncertain and would be dependent on the availability of domestic financing for preclinical research, because “whoever pays for the science dictates the priorities.”