New Jersey-based MSD, a subsidiary of Merck & Co. Inc., has reiterated commitment to the Nigerian market by opening its office in the country, just as it launches HIV Drug, ATRIPLA.
Commercial Director, MSD West Africa, Mr. Kingsley Okeke, confirmed this to NaijaAgroNet, saying that this commitment gave birth to the company opening office in Lagos.
He also said that this will improve access to medicines, especially following the launch of HIV Drug ATRIPLA.
He
explained that the office in Lagos-Nigeria will be managed by himself with a team
of 18 employees.
“The
opening of the office in Lagos underscores MSD’s commitment to expand its
geographic footprint in Africa and to work closely with local stakeholders to
address health challenges in Nigeria and neighboring West African countries such
as Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Gambia and Equatorial Guinea,” he said.
This, he said, is in line with MSD's new Africa strategy, saying this is at the core of this strategy is the strengthening of MSD's presence within Africa, through the appointment of local health professionals who not only have an understanding of the environment and a respect for local customs, but also the passion to accelerate the public health agenda as defined by the governments.
This includes contributing to creating jobs and transferring technical know-how, as well as the Company’s sustainable commitment to the community in which it operates.
He explained that at MSD, commitment is to get the right medicines to the right people in the right place, and we will achieve this by focusing on bringing medications and vaccines to Nigeria to address unmet medical needs.
“We have an excellent relationship with the Nigerian government and we have set ourselves the ambitious goal to be the number one health care partner in Nigeria in scaling up access to healthcare services and medicines," he said.
Remmy Nweke
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