Pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria posted decade-high profits in 2025, with publicly listed firms more than doubling their collective earnings to 14.8 billion naira.
The gains are attributed to President Bola Tinubu’s executive order waiving import taxes on raw materials and greater stability in the Foreign Exchange Market.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Mohammed Ali Pate who confirmed this in Abuja said that the windfall marks a sharp turnaround for an industry long battered by naira volatility and high input costs.
He said firms like Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals, May & Baker Nigeria and Fidson Healthcare saw margins expand as the policies slashed production expenses, boosted capacity utilization and eased financial planning.
The Minister explained that total profits for these listed companies jumped from 6.5 billion naira in 2024.
NewsQuest reports that at the center of the revival is the Presidential Initiative to Unlock Healthcare Value Chains (PVAC), which introduced tax waivers on pharmaceutical raw materials.
“These incentives, extended through March 2027, have given local manufacturers a competitive edge over imports and spurred a shift toward homegrown drug production,” Professor Pate said.
The policy helped lowered production cost, providing a competitive edge on local manufacturers across the country.
Our correspondent gathered that a more stable naira has compounded the gains, curtailing the exchange-rate losses that once hobbled the sector.
Minister Pate has driven complementary reforms, including new financing mechanisms backed by €1 billion from the European Investment Bank and $1 billion from Afreximbank.
These have de-risked expansion for manufacturers, with over 30 percent of new firms emerging under the improved frameworks.
Analysts see promise in the long-term outlook. “The waivers are enabling real investment in capacity,” said one industry executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive financials.
As Nigeria pushes to localize its $1.5 billion pharmaceutical market, the reforms could solidify gains even after incentives expire.
