By Muhammad Amaan
Fidson Healthcare Plc has signed a Strategic Cooperation Memorandum with three Chinese firms; Jiangsu Aidea Pharma, Nanjing PharmaBlock, and the China-Africa Development Fund in Beijing, China, to expand access to HIV drugs in Africa.
Through this collaboration, the four firms have agreed to actively leverage their respective strengths to establish a new joint venture pharmaceutical plant project in Nigeria.
The signing ceremony took place during a visit by a team from Nigeria led by Dr Fidelis Ayebae, the founder and Managing Director of Fidson Healthcare Plc.
Other members of the delegate from Nigeria were Dr. Babatunde Ipaye and Mr Oshoke Ayebae.
Ayebae, in a statement, said the partnership would help Nigerians and other Africans living with HIV to have access to treatment.
“Through this collaboration, the four parties have agreed to actively leverage their respective strengths to establish a new joint venture pharmaceutical plant project in Nigeria.
“This new project is poised to promote Africa’s self-reliance in healthcare delivery specially to tackle HIV.
“All parties agreed to share information and resources, jointly explore investment opportunities in the pharmaceutical markets of West African countries, and implement investment cooperation at the project level”, he said.
The Fidson boss noted that the signing ceremony followed a series of engagements which included a visit by the Chairman of Jiangsu Aidea Pharma- Dr. Heliang Fu to Nigeria earlier in the year.
“During that visit, Dr Fu toured the Lekki Free Trade Zone, the chosen site for the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility that is set to revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria and the wider African continent.
“The partnership between Fidson and the Chinese firms is a sterling example of international cooperation to tackle pressing medical challenges.
“The upcoming manufacturing facility will become a hub for pharmaceutical excellence, leveraging the Lekki Free Trade Zone’s strategic location and comprehensive infrastructure to foster economic growth and healthcare improvement in the words of Dr. Fu.
“This collaboration marks an important step for Chinese Pharma players in their commitment to global medical cooperation,” he said.
Ayebae pointed out that the move would address the medical needs of over 1.9 million persons living with HIV in Nigeria.
“We eagerly look forward to this collaboration and believe that the complementary strengths of all parties will inject new vitality into the Healthcare delivery sector in Africa, particularly addressing the medical needs of over 1.9 million HIV-infected individuals in Nigeria, a focus of Aidea Pharma,” he added.
Fidson, which is listed in Lagos where its stock has shed 24.6 per cent this year, is valued at N30.3 billion.
