Fidson Healthcare Wins 2018 Frost & Sullivan Best Practice Awards

Chioma Umeha

Fidson Healthcare PLC has emerged winner of the 2018 Frost & Sullivan – Best Practice Award for Competitive Strategy Innovation and Leadership. The award ceremony which was held recently in Cape Town, South Africa, recognizes Fidson’s definitive competitive strategy, innovation and strong leadership in the area of Pharmaceutical Production and Distribution in Nigeria.

The 2018 Frost & Sullivan Award which is a global award that has been in existence for the past fifteen years brought together top business leaders and innovators to celebrate their success.

According to Frost & Sullivan, at the forefront of Fidson’s Innovation and competitive strategy is the N7.5 billion state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Sango Ota, Ogun State, the largest manufacturing facility in West Africa, designed to double the company’s production capacity, enabling it to grow sales volume and meet the rising demand for drugs in Nigeria and broader West African region.

Beyond boosting the local economy and creating more than 300 jobs for skilled and unskilled Nigerians, the new Fidson plant is consolidating the company’s extensive manufacturing capabilities, increasing revenue growth, facilitating expansion into a new product category, and ultimately reinforcing the company’s firm position in the Nigerian pharmaceuticals market.

Frost & Sullivan noted in its statement that the significant competitive advantage of the new Fidson’s factory is already evident after only one full calendar year in operation; when the company experienced revenue growth from N7.6 billion ($21 million) in 2016 to N14 billion ($39 million) in 2017.

Chairman, Frost & Sullivan – David Frigstad wrote that “To achieve excellence in competitive strategy is never an easy task, but it is one made even more difficult considering today’s competitive intensity, customer volatility, and economic uncertainty  – not to mention the difficulty of innovating in an environment of escalating challenges to intellectual property. Within this context, your (Fidson’s) receipt of this award signifies an even greater accomplishment.”

Receiving the award at Cape Town, South Africa, Head, Business Development and Strategy, Mr Oshoke Ayebae appreciated Frost & Sullivan for recognizing Fidson’s contribution through its Innovation and Leadership in the Pharma industry, particularly in the area of quality pharmaceutical products, production and distribution in Nigeria.

“Since inception in 1995, Fidson has relentlessly pursued its goal of becoming a leading player in the Nigerian pharmaceutical landscape and has built an innovative organizational framework that has helped gain dominance in the industry. We have built a structure of Innovation and Excellence around our system, process and people”, he said.

He also noted that the Frost and Sullivan Competitive Strategy Innovation and Leadership Awards is a credible indication that the company is taking steps in the right direction. “As a company, we have left no stone unturned in ensuring that our operations are congruent with the best practice globally, and have recorded several remarkable feats, from one milestone to another. We, therefore, believe that this award will go a long way to boost our corporate reputation and also validate our commitment to deliver excellent quality healthcare solutions to Nigerians”.

The new factory, which is compliant with the World Health Organization (WHO) and is on course to receive WHO certification —satisfying the African and global pharmaceuticals markets’ requirement for compliance and regulation. The factory doubled the company’s factory-based revenue generation from 20 per cent in 2016 to above 40 per cent in 2017 – primarily due to an increase in production volumes and the introduction of new product lines.