A critical analysis of the prospects and constraints to commercialization of indigenous pharmaceutical research and developments outputs in developing countries

Abstract

It is the inalienable right of the pharmaceutical industry to continue to create medical breakthroughs in order to improve the quality and availability of essential drugs, equipment and consumables in order to impact on morbidity and mortality rates associated with emerging and re-emerging diseases. This study aims at evaluating the prospects and constraints that the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria faces in Research and Development (R&D) and its commercialization and how these could be overcome. Questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument using stratified sampling procedure. Findings show that the industry faces a lot of constraints due to economic, regulatory and scientific factors that have fundamentally changed the environment in which it operates. The changing focus of drug discovery and development, rising R & D expenditure, cost management, complexity of R & D (e.g. biotechnologies), lengthy period of R & D till commercialization among others, are disincentives to innovations and commercialization of the output of R & D. Thus, translation of the output of pharmaceutical R & D in developing countries like Nigeria is still low just as the prospect for commercialization and innovative skills remain low. The study recommends appropriate intervention strategies to overcome the militating factors so that the industry can grow and enhance the multiplier effect of improved quality of life benefits.