As part of changes in its consumer healthcare supply chain operating model and following ongoing plans to sell its Agbara factory, the board of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc, on Friday announced the selection of Fidson Healthcare Plc as preferred local contract manufacturing partner.
This selection, the company said in a statement by Uchenna Uwechia, the company secretary to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE, GSK expressed belief “that the partnership would help build and sustain local expertise, technical knowledge and improve local production capacities.”
The deal is however subject to Fidson’s ability to meet appropriate regulatory requirements, after which GSK will be transitioning the manufacturing of its wellness respiratory products in the first instance from 2023.
“Until then, it would be business as usual at the Agbara Factory as GSK continues to ensure supply continuity for all its locally manufactured brands,” the statement added.
In a presentation to the nation’s capital market community at the Facts Behind its N3bn rights offer last week, Imokha Ayebae, Fidson’s head of Finance & Accounts, said the company is constructing a new World Health Organisation (WHO) standard factory, to undertake contract manufacturing for international brands, as well as technical collaborations.
Besides driving revenue from the factory in the years ahead, the company also hopes to manufacture products for the export market from the facility, thereby earning foreign exchange.