To keep drugs safe and intact from the point of manufacture and import to storage, and distribution to the end-users, the Association of Pharmaceutical Products Marketers of Nigeria (APPMAN) has said that it was working on having registered warehouses with regulated facilities in each state of the Federation.

APPMAN also said it has established a self-regulatory task force, to deal with any of its members found to be violating regulatory agencies’ rules and regulations, noting that it has sufficiently reduced the workload and frictions between members of the association and the Pharmacist Council of Nigeria (PCN).

Speaking in Lagos on Thursday, during the 2021 APPMAN Annual Convention, National President of the association, Hon. Afolabi Adekambi urged regulatory agencies to work together with law enforcement agencies, especially the police by providing correct and adequate information on lawbreakers, to avoid unwarranted embarrassments of law-abiding members of our association.

He reiterated that “as a rule, all members of APPMAN engage the services of superintendent pharmacists, that oversee our premises and retail prescriptions where applicable.

“This we take seriously to the extent of applying disciplinary measures to some members recently, for not adhering to extant rules and regulations.”

Adekambi assured that APPMAN under his leadership shall continue to maintain decency in the pharmaceuticals business and abide by all safe distribution policies, through direct links to the manufacturers and importers.

While hailing the PCN for resolving and handling positively the Kaduna Appeal Court ruling on the Retail Registration of APPMAN members businesses under the supervision of the Superintendent Pharmacists, Adekambi thanked “the PCN Registrar, Pharm N.A.E Muhammad for his time, attention, and his non-skewed approach to pressing matters.”

He hailed the efforts of the PCN in converting the Drugs market to
Coordinated Wholesale Centers (CWC), saying; “the beneficiaries are currently our members and hence, trading safely under the supervision of Superintendent Pharmacists.”

Adekambi announced that the APPMAN website is now open for multidimensional interactions as well as for Pharmaceutical Companies and other stakeholders to advertise and market their products.

On the 2021 annual convention, with the theme; “Pharmaceutical Products and Health at the bottom of the pyramid -Our Role,” the president said; “The theme has dovetailed to a lot of activities that are lined up for our erudite invitees to do justice to and I have to specially thank the Keynote Speaker, Honorable Minister of State for Health Rt Hon Senator Dr. Olorunimbe Mamora as well as the PCN Chairman, the PCN Registrar, the NAFDAC Director and all others that left their ever-busy schedule to grace this occasion.

“APPMAN as business owners works with Superintendent Pharmacists, through this we have achieved lots of milestones since the last Covid era, 2020 Convention in Abuja, while working for hand in hand and collaboration with the Pharmacist Council of Nigeria, PSN, NAFDAC, NDLEA, and other relevant stakeholders.

“Much of our efforts are geared and directed at achieving overall good safety practices, in the drug distribution chain systems in Nigeria.

“My leadership through strong and positive advocacy has been able to re-orientate the relationship between APPMAN members and the regulatory bodies, most especially the PCN, towards a robust relationship that is beneficial to all end-users in Nigeria, to this end I have to thank and appreciate all the Pharmacist bodies in the Nation, for making these modest achievements possible without rancor and acrimony.

“Under my leadership, APPMAN has been embraced by virtually all the 36 states in Nigeria thus making information dissemination, awareness creation, and group control at our fingertips.

“The level of regulatory compliance by our members has improved considerably, this was achieved through strong advocacy, massive enlightenment campaigns, and extensive self-regulation, embarked upon by my leadership in conjunction with the National Executives.

“Unlike the usual negative energies of the past, the new APPMAN has been able to rejuvenate and resolve issues with PCN and other agencies without resorting to litigations.”