Industry
Muonemeh Highlights Regional Regulatory Cooperation at NPME2026
Frank Muonemeh’s reflections on the 8th Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo 2026 highlight the African Medicines Agency’s role in regulatory coordination and the African Continental Free Trade Area’s potential to support Nigeria’s regional pharmaceutical manufacturing ambitions.
Frank Muonemeh has highlighted the importance of regional regulatory coordination and trade opportunities in advancing pharmaceutical manufacturing in Africa, following the 8th Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers Expo (NPME2026), held on 28 and 29 September 2026 in Lagos.
In his LinkedIn reflection published on 11 October 2026, Muonemeh recounted discussions at the expo, which brought together pharmaceutical industry stakeholders, policymakers, regulators and development partners under the theme, “Regional Manufacturing: Advancing Africa’s Pharma & Life Science Sovereignty Through Localization”.
Muonemeh’s account drew attention to remarks by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, and the Director General of the African Medicines Agency (AMA), Delese Mimi Darko.
AfCFTA and Nigeria’s Regional Manufacturing Ambitions
According to Muonemeh, Salako, who declared the expo open, emphasised the need to strengthen capacity across the pharmaceutical value chain, including research and development, active pharmaceutical ingredients, excipients, raw materials, commercial manufacturing, quality assurance, biologics and vaccines.
The minister’s remarks also highlighted the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to position Nigeria as a regional hub for pharmaceutical and life-science manufacturing.
African Medicines Agency and Regulatory Coordination
Muonemeh also highlighted the keynote address by Darko, Director General of the African Medicines Agency, which focused on the need for stronger regulatory coordination across Africa.
As stated in his reflection, the Agency’s role is to strengthen and coordinate regulatory capacity across the continent, complementing rather than replacing national regulatory authorities.
The account placed regional regulatory cooperation alongside local manufacturing and stronger institutions as important elements of efforts to advance pharmaceutical sovereignty and medicine security in Africa.
Regional Cooperation and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
In reflecting on the expo, Muonemeh emphasised the importance of collaboration, effective policy implementation and sustained investment in strengthening Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry.
He wrote that Africa’s medicine security must be built on “sustainable local manufacturing, stronger institutions and regional collaboration”.
The reflection concluded that Nigeria’s ambition to play a greater role in Africa’s pharmaceutical future would depend on a competitive domestic manufacturing ecosystem, consistent policies, investment and partnerships capable of translating industry ambitions into measurable progress.
Source: Frank Muonemeh, “My Reflections from the 8th Edition of the NPME2026”, LinkedIn, 11 October 2026.
Original article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-reflections-from-8th-edition-npme2026-28th-29th-theme-muonemeh-wxd7f