GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s Nigerian unit, the second biggest manufacturer of drugs in the West African nation, is struggling to maintain supplies of its pharmaceutical and vaccine products due a shortage of dollars to import ingredients.
(Bloomberg) — GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s Nigerian unit, the second biggest manufacturer of drugs in the West African nation, is struggling to maintain supplies of its pharmaceutical and vaccine products due a shortage of dollars to import ingredients.
“We are doing all we can to limit the period of time the market will be out-of-stock on our products,” GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria said in emailed statement.
The central bank in Africa’s largest economy limits foreign currency to companies to help manage the value of the naira and preserve its foreign-exchange reserves. To do this, it created a multiple exchange-rate regime where it sells the greenback in limited values at controlled prices. Most firms that can’t access the official rate turn to the more expensive parallel market.
That demand has led to a 61% differential between the price offered by the central bank and black market. While the official rate was 464.94 naira per dollar as of 1:36 p.m. in Lagos on Friday, it traded at about 750 on the street.
President Bola Tinubu said in his inauguration speech he will encourage policymakers to move toward a uniform exchange rate system that will increase the availability of dollars to businesses.
Read: Nigeria Bonds Set for Biggest Gain in Month as Tinubu Takes Over
“We are actively engaging with all our stakeholders to find a solution to enable sustainable supply of GSK medicines and vaccines,” said the maker of Augmentin antibiotic and Ambirix, a hepatitis vaccine in Nigeria. “We regret the disruption to patients and healthcare providers.”
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