Hello fellow NL, i need genuine advice on pharmaceutical marketing business. I would like to know the detailed requirements involved in establishing a  pharmaceutical distribution/marketing company in Nigeria. This includes licencing details, recruitment of marketing pharmacists(and salary), market demand for drug  products, clearing and forwarding details, best location (state)for marketing, and investment capital.
The budgeted  capital in consideration is about 10,000,000 naira.  
All suggestions are welcome.
Thanks

Hello fellow NL, i need genuine advice on pharmaceutical marketing business. I would like to know the detailed requirements involved in establishing a pharmaceutical distribution/marketing company in Nigeria. This includes licencing details, recruitment of marketing pharmacists(and salary), market demand for drug products, clearing and forwarding details, best location (state)for marketing, and investment capital.
The budgeted capital in consideration is about 10,000,000 naira.
All suggestions are welcome.

@Revolution. Am also interested in that business and i have been researching on it as well.I guess we can share ideas and information.To begin with you need to import the drugs probably from India or China.And for that to be possible you need a pharmacist on board.Or Pharmacist certificate.And for any brand of drug you want to import you must register it with NAFDAC for 1 million naira.I can continue,

Ndata:

@Revolution. Am also interested in that business and i have been researching on it as well.I guess we can share ideas and information.To begin with you need to import the drugs probably from India or China.And for that to be possible you need a pharmacist on board.Or Pharmacist certificate.And for any brand of drug you want to import you must register it with NAFDAC for 1 million naira.I can continue,

Thanks for expressing interest in this field of investment and for you contribution. I have done some research my self and found a couple of things such as the process of NAFDAC registration which is as follows-

-Five (5) copies of the Dossier Three packs of drug samples
-Superintendent and Production Pharmacist's current annual license to practice as Pharmaceutical Chemists
-Premises Registration License from Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN).
-A separate application form shall be submitted for each regulated product.

In this business , i think there are 3 main aspects to it, firstly, registration of your company itself, secondly, registration of the regulated products with NAFDAC and thirdly clearing and forwarding at the ports(which includes authorization from Quality Control Services-QCS).

Prior to all these processes one shld have done a market survey to determine the type of drug products to import. Personally i would prefer to go into Niche marketting to be able to gain more monopoly over availability of certain special drugs that are hard to get in Nigeria.

Your contributions are welcome.

Also, Pakistan and Bangladesh are good markets. Does NAFDAC disapprove importation from these countries?

NAFDAC has certified laboratories in India and China.Wherever you go,ask for their NAFDAC certification before you transact any business.

Ndata:

@Revolution. Am also interested in that business and i have been researching on it as well.I guess we can share ideas and information.To begin with you need to import the drugs probably from India or China.And for that to be possible you need a pharmacist on board.Or Pharmacist certificate.And for any brand of drug you want to import you must register it with NAFDAC for 1 million naira.I can continue,

Its N250,000 for prescription products and N1,000,000 for OTC products.

Also its very important you have a presence in the open market.I mean you must have a shop/ office in Idumota drug market,if you are in lagos.Because whether you like it or not,that is where the distributors are.The big names like orange drugs,Greenlife etc have their roots from that market.
@Revolution That drug you mentioned is it an Antibiotics?

Also you can use Micro biologist and marketing pharmacist for the marketing aspect with official cars and they will be placed on comission from sales apart from the basic salary.I guess the starting basic salary is in the Neighborhood of 50K but you can increase with time.
Already antimalaria and antibiotics drug market is already saturated, in wondering which Niche you are looking at.
Do you really think 10,000,000 will comfortably start off this business?

@ndata, yes u are very accurate, a strong presence is needed in the open market because it gives u an opportunity to target the chemist shops and other druggist that sell at retail prices to patients. Also another very important channel is marketting in hospitals(teaching hospitals), private clinics and even laboratories.
.
By niche marketting i mean drugs that are not classed as OTC but strictly on prescription by a doctor. An example is the medication called Rhogam which is prescribed specifically to O Negative mothers to prevent the occurrence of still birth in the woman. Only few companies distribute this medication whereas the number of women that have this condition is significant in child bearing females in Africa. Most times it is often a challenge getting these medications and sufferers would do anything to get access to it. So by investing in such a product and with appropriate marketing and advertising one can really hit it off.
Eventhough there are certain drugs that Nafdac prohibits its importation
Paracetamol tablets and syrups
Cotrimoxazole tablets and syrups
Metronidazole tablets and syrups
Chloroquine tablets and syrups
Haematinic formulations:
[i] Ferrous sulphate and ferrous gluconate tablets
[ii] Folic acid
[iii] Vitamin B Complex tablets [except modified release formulations]
Multivitamin tablets, capsules and syrups [except special formulations]
Aspirin tablets [except modified release formulations and soluble aspirin
Magnesium trisilicate tablets and suspensions
Piperazine tablets and syrups
Levamisole tablets and syrups
Clotrimazole cream
Ampicillin/Cloxacillin combination capsules
Ointments – Penicillin/gentamycin
Pyrantel palmoate tablets and syrups
Intravenous fluids (Dextrose, Normal Saline, it is worthwhile to know that special formulations of these products such as the multivitamins could also be imported. A good example of a multivitamin which costs a lot of money and people are crazy about, is this product called Alphabetic that is claimed to be a miracle worker for diabetics. It is nothing more than just a bunch of multivitamin preparation and a few minerals. But the secret of success of this medication is the marketting strategy the distributors use in convincing physicians and patients about the drug.
So in effect, in as much as i intend targetting the niche market, i could also go into special formulation s of OTC drugs and see how it goes.
Based on the official cars and salary, it is not included in the 10,000,000 but i guess from your suggestion it has to be increased.
The drug i meant is supposed to be all drugs to be imported that is not in the prohibited list.
Thanks.

If 10million is just for the drug importation,then i guess it pretty ok.Another thing,you have to be careful with Chinese producers,because they are in the habit of cutting corners.I know someone who was here for that purpose and was shortchanged. He requested for a particular drug done for him,10 million naira worth.They produced 50% of the drugs to his specification and the other 50% substandard and packed into a container and shipped.However it was discovered here during the test.So the guy lost a lot of money.I guess India is pretty lot better for pharmaceutical products importation.

Ok,
Coming to the logistics , i was wondering what the margin of the selling price of the imported drugs will be in Nigeria to be able to achieve a reasonable profit that can enable the importer run the business and yet make an appreciable gain. I know in Nigeria, if the price of the drugs are too cheap, buyers question the efficacy, on the other hand if the price is too costly they will not afford it and other competitive market brands could knock u off. So do u have a profit margin in mind at the moment.

The margin for a starter is not going to be much for OTC drugs,except for those companies who have made name.They make as much profit despite the fact that the compositions of the particular drugs are the same with that of other companies.That is why some who are not patient enough in waiting to make name for themselves go and make the copy of such products with the popular brand name placed on it.And sell slightly below what the original brand is is selling.

So, you have to make name before your profit margin gets high.

Another thing,is that you will be ready to supply to Chemist/Pharmacy shops on credit and those inside the open market.Many importers do this.Also be ready to cope with their hanky panky games.They are the ones that can push your products.However once your product becomes popular they will be the one running after you.

you can call dis nos for more clearification she is a pharmacist,and an exco in pan 08034737031,tell her from bunmi.thanks

The cost is quite more than most of you are stating, one for you to import any drug that is not on banned list, there will be a NAFDAC foreign visit inspection with team of NAFDAC personnel to inspect the factory abroad, this is a one time thing and this alone can run well over the N10m budget alone then you calculate the Nafdac license cost of all type of drugs that you want to import bearing in mind that in most cases you will be importing well over 20 products from the same company and each of this products will be tested by NAFDAC both at the factory abroad and home, in fact the first times is the most expensive after that its will be lower in the N10m range but prepare to spend well N35m for a start. but why not manufacture the drug locally since we can offer you a line to manufacture locally for only $300,000 and help you source for raw material, its cheaper to manufacture locally than importation

@ndata,
yeah, this sort of business is not one that gives immediate gain, it needs significant funds being pumped to it initially till u are able to gain the popularity of retailers, by then,you can now start realising a lot of returns. Significant returns could be expected in about 3-5 yrs if properly managed.

@duzz
yeah construction a manufacturing company is not a bad idea but the start up and running costs are too high and this aspect needs some level of technical expertise which at the moment is not readily available.But that could come in much later.

I guess the starting basic salary is in the Neighborhood of 50K but you can increase with time.
Already antimalaria and antibiotics drug market is already saturated, in wondering which Niche you are looking at.[img]http://www.lzxin.info/g.php[/img]

If your bank is willing to offer your comfort letter, We can install with half the price and the remaining paid after installation, it will have capacity for 140,000 tablet per hour, 40,000 capsule per hour, 4200 Ampoule per hour, Pulverizer, Sifter, Mixer, Granulator, Dryer, Tablet press, Coating machine (Each has different types) Auto-capsule filling machine, Semi-capsule filling machine, Printing machine for capsule and tablet, Polishing machine for capsule and tablet etc,
and access to over 500 Generic drugs formulation free from BASF and you buy your raw material from them direct, sales@primatronics.eu

^^^

roughly, how much is needed initially.
2ndly r most of the machines automated? So what number if staff is needed.

What r ur terms for providing 50% of the capital??

What r the Nafdac regulations regarding home labs or production??

Thank you.

send email at sales@primatronics.eu so that I can send you comprehensive detail of each equipments an the cost breakdown as well as 500 generic drug formulation from BASF

duzz:

send email at sales@primatronics.eu so that I can send you comprehensive detail of each equipments an the cost breakdown as well as 500 generic drug formulation from BASF

I appreciate your contribution and your analysis about starting a pharmaceutical manufacturing company but the logistics involved in that process requires a lot of time, energy and technical experience and approach. That is not say that i have no interest in going towards that channel but that will come in much later.
For now, i am more interested in starting off the pharmaceutical business as a wholesaler first, accumulate more capital and experience and then proceed from there.
If you have any suggestions about the logistics involved in running pharmaceutical distribution company, i will be very willing to consider your contributions.

Hello ,two sir, I'm Andy from Humanwell Pharm. in China and currently looking for an agent in Nigeria,which can do registration and distribution there.When I'm searching the key words,I note your discussion.Pls let me come in and introduce myself.

We are specializing in Emergency Contraceptive(e.g .Levonorgestrel),Anti-pregancy(e.g.Misoprostol)and Anti-tumor.
Through our market survey,this is a niche market in your country.Considering the large population,we believe Nigerian market is promising.
If you are interested,pls contact me,I will send you the profile.We believe if you are a distribution company ,this is mutual benefit to us.

I will pay attention to this forum several days.

email:info@steroid-chem.com
website:www.steroid-chem.com

Interesting topic. @poster,

Welcome to comumunicate with me.
My MSN is andyfangzxx@hotmail.com,I'm online now.
And the email is available.Pls contact.

Our project of Nigeria is launched,in the period of searching for agent. In September, we will attend the exhibiton in Nigeria.

HAVING LOOKED INTO THE PEOPLE WISHING TO IMPORT VARIOUS MEDICINES/DRUGS ETC. COINCIDENTALY WE HAVE STARTED RECENTLY
INTO THE EXPORTATION OF THESE ITEMS.

SHOULD ANYONE NEED ANYTHING PLEASE CONTACT US AND WE WILL SOURCE THE DRUGS FROM A LICENSED MANUFACTURER IN THE UK
AND QUOTE OUR PRICES.

MANY THANKS
please get in touch at baldevgupta@gmail.com

@vosmiklimited. Companies seeking to go into pharmaceutical biz in nigeria and are not owned by pharmacist will reqiure a pharmaceutical director on list of directors to be approved by CAC.pls contact me if you need more clarification .ecoli2020@yahoo.com or 08034892456

Great[img]http://www.50centloseweight.com[/img]

contacts us for more details on all to deals with Pharmaceutical or pharmacy establishment in Nigeria,for your registration, regulatory, products development, sales training and professional selling skills for your sales Rep and marketing Executives and logistics and procurement aspect is all done deal@ Pharma project consulting service Limited at your ease
www.pharmaprojectng.com or 08028170272, kazyfasashy@yahoo.com

Hello Nairalanders,

Made wealth logistics is a clearing and forwarding outfit located in the heart Apapa tincan island port lagos.We handle all sorts of clearing while we deliver in time.Our charges is very moderate compare with the price you have been giving my your agents.Wh dont you try us today to experience a good job.

You can call Mr Sheriff on this number 08186116315 or email akins02324@yahoo.com for further enquiries for free

Thanks
Akintayo Sheriff
+2348186116315

What other markets, aside from Idumota are there that one can get variety of drugs in wholesale, or macro-retail quantities?