Tough Cure For Pfizer's Nigerian Headache
By Sanya Ademiluyi
For several years now, US -based international pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer Inc. has laboured hard to find a cure for its seemingly intractable Nigerian headache. The headache stems from the controversial circumstances surrounding the administering of Pfizer's then experimental anti-meningitis drug, Trovan on some Nigerian children which tragically resulted in several deaths.
In spite of the drug giant's valiant efforts, the issue is simply one nagging headache that has refused to go away. Indeed, the matter which has been in court for several years has done quite a lot of damage to Pfizer's public image and equally had disastrous effects on its once robust business activities in the country. Last week, however ,there were suggestions that an out-of -court settlement had been proposed by Pfizer and may have been accepted by the Nigerian Government and several state government including that of Kano, who were the major plaintiffs in the $7 billion suit which seemed to pitch most Nigerians against the well known drug-maker.
What made the Trovan case such a hard prescription to swallow for Pfizer was also the fact that, it had been hoping for better business results in the country when it appointed a Nigerian, Ngozi Edozien, an ex-McKinsey &Co. consultant as managing director for Pfizer West Africa and Anglophone Africa based in Lagos, Nigeria. This was only three years ago. Edozien had been very optimistic about the prospects of the Pfizer brands among which are Viagra, and Feldene which had been quite popular in Nigeria. Moreso, Pfizer had divested its Nigerian subsidiary, then Pfizer Nigeria few years earlier through a management buy out. Then after its return two years later, it then appointed a Nigerian managing director to further drive the business aggressively.
In spite of the Trovan matter, Edozien has been able to grow the business in the past few years. One ex-Pfizer staff says that people may not understand that pharmaceutical marketing is different from that of mass consumer goods. He says that Pfizer has carefully wooed respected figures in medical circles who have endorsed its major drug brands, paving the way for their acceptance. The global drug maker reputed to be the largest in the world has also leveraged on its long list of block buster drugs, especially the cardiovascular management drugs in which it has an unparalleled edge over rivals. The Pfizer drug machine is so extensive that the Trovan fiasco may well be a mild irritation.
Many Pfizer brands such as Feldene, the over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drug and Combantrin the worm expeller are industry staples. Even, its big ticket and high profile drugs such as anti-hypertensives Minizide and Norvasc have made Pfizer one of the leading pharmaceutical companies the world over with an infectious reputation. Not to talk of its groundbreaking Viagra drug which made it as popular as the world's leading consumer goods companies as Coca-Cola and sport wear maker, Nike.
True to its then rock solid reputation, Pfizer's leading executives could sit with high ranking government officials round the world including Nigeria to find solutions to some of the most serious disease problems. Last year, Pfizer sponsored a free breast cancer and cardiovascular diseases screening test programme for women in Lagos State through the wife of the Lagos State governor, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola which provided a rare marketing opportunity for the drug maker.
Pfizer brands such as Combantrin, Feldene, Tetracortil (eye ointment), Fasigyn (antibiotic) continue to enjoy widespread sales, although high profile partnerships with government which could turn out to be good business for Pfizer's extensive drug list have dwindled the Trovan contagion.
But Pfizer is now seeking a settlement with the victims of the Trovan tragedy and the Nigerian government. If the settlement sails through, Pfizer's battered public image in the country would rise again, then Edozien may further grow the Pfizer corporate brand in Nigeria .
