Aduragbemi Omiyale
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
From February 2024, a leading pharmaceutical company, Sanofi-Aventi Nigeria Limited, will put a stop to its direct operations in the country, opting to hand over this business to a yet-to-be-named third party.
In a statement signed by the Country Lead for Sanofi, Ms Folake Odediran, it was noted that this new business model was adopted for the “commercialisation of Sanofi portfolio of medicines” through a major distributor.
This business model is also to be adopted by another player in the sector, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Nigeria Plc, which announced its planned exit from the Nigerian market a few months ago due to the harsh operating environment triggered by red-hot inflation and foreign exchange (FX) supply squeeze.
In the notice addressed to its stakeholders on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, Sanofi said its employees have been informed of this development, promising to update members of the public as events unfold.
“I hope this letter finds you well. We deeply value the strong and longstanding relationship that Sanofi-Aventis Nigeria Limited has cultivated with you and your establishment. It is with this appreciation in mind that I am writing to you about an important development.
“With effect from February 2024, our company will embark on an exciting transformation of its business model in Nigeria. In our new business model, the commercialisation of Sanofi’s portfolio of medicines will be driven solely by a third-party distributor to be named soon.
“This strategic move represents a significant milestone for our organisation and is driven by our commitment to continually improve access to our medicines and to better serve our patients and the Nigerian health system.
“We have commenced engagement with our employees, partners and key stakeholders to ensure full transparency. In the coming days, we will make public announcements through the media. However, we recognise that our relationship with our stakeholders is of paramount importance, and we wish to share this information with you in advance.
“While details of our new business model will be made in our media announcement, be assured that this transformation is rooted in our commitment to providing more value to patients.
“We understand that you may have questions, and we are committed to addressing them as much as we can,” the statement signed by Ms Odediran stated.
One of the popular products of Sanofi is Artesunate Amodiaquine Winthrop.
