Nigeria and global clinical research

The recent revelation by medical experts that Nigeria is among African countries that shy away from participating in global clinical research is worrisome. As a result of this negligence, the country does not benefit from the over $60 billion spent worldwide yearly on clinical trials.

According to the Chairman of Association for Good Clinical Practice in Nigeria (AGCPN), Dr. Ifeoma Okoye, the field is dominated by India, China, Latin America and until recently South Africa.
It is a fact that clinical trials “outsourcing” is now a major business in India predicted to worth between $1.5 and $2 billion by 2010. Part of this amount will be missed by Nigeria in view of our non-participation in global clinical trials.

There is no doubt that clinical trials is the in-thing now as many countries require that it must be conducted within their own population before approval can be granted for marketing a drug in their countries.

This is borne out of the fact that drugs imported from foreign countries might not be suitable for local population considering variation and difference in human genome, among races. This is the main reason Nigeria should participate in future drug trials. The unethical drug trials episode in Kano some years ago should not discourage us from profiting from immense health benefits that a global clinical trial offers.

The concentration of most pharmaceutical companies in developed countries has thrown up the challenge of competing for same population for drug trials. Under the scenario, it has become more arduous to gather together enough subjects from this population suitable to achieve a meaningful trial. For instance, the lack of access to enough subjects is perhaps one of the most common reasons behind trial delays in the United States.

It is the need to augment this shortfall that has made the offshore outsourcing of clinical trials a necessity for many pharmaceutical companies.

It is therefore not in doubt that such off-shore outsourcing which India and China have long been tapping would likely offer huge benefits as well as challenges to a developing country like Nigeria with myriads of health problems.

We think that our government should, through the Federal Ministry of Health, make Nigeria embrace fully the initiative of global clinical research in view of its obvious medical advantages and not necessarily the anticipated monetary gains. We say this considering the fact that Nigeria is home to most world’s endemic diseases that decimate our population on a daily basis. Moreso, our population is highly prone to cardiovascular and endocrine diseases that could only be managed because of their terminal nature.

The Health Ministry should rise to this challenge and launch Nigeria into the best medical and pharmaceutical practices such trials would expectedly engender. It is regrettable that the authorities have closed their eyes to researches in preference for mundane things.

There is no way we can compete with other countries in this wise due to our long neglect of research in the medical field.

If we really want to move ahead as a country in a 21st century world, there is the need for us to take medical research and allied researches very seriously. The present lethargy on medical research should be broken in order to launch the country in the global web and orbit of advanced medical research. There is no sitting on the fence on the matter. Let the health authorities take the decisive step.