After charting a similar move in Kenya last year, GSK is pulling the plug on its Nigerian operations.
Late last week, GSK said it plans to cease commercialization of its prescription medicines and vaccines in Nigeria, with the intent to switch to a third-party direct distribution model. GSK’s consumer health spinoff Haleon is taking similar steps, GSK explained in a press release.
GSK has operated in Nigeria for more than 51 years, according to Business Insider Africa. The publication notes that GSK is exiting Nigeria—and similarly left Kenya—due to complexities in foreign exchange rates, security concerns, rising operational expenses and uncertainties around policies.
The decision will affect some 160 employees in Nigeria, GSK told The Financial Times.
The drugmaker exited Kenya in a strategic maneuver last October. Much like the Nigeria decision, GSK cut out its commercial operations in the country and pivoted to a distributor-led model for supply.
GSK’s operational shakeup isn’t unique to Africa, either. Back in November, the British Big Pharma decided to eliminate its consumer trade channel in India, where it announced around 150 job cuts. The employees were responsible for taking orders from chemists and ensuring that the company's consumer brands were available in stores around the country, The Times of India previously reported. These days, that can be achieved digitally.
For the second quarter of 2023, GSK’s Nigerian business brought home around 3.73 billion Nigerian naira ($4.74 million), down considerably from the 7.45 billion Nigerian naira it generated over the same period in 2022.