Barbados Signs Strategic Pharma Agreement with Nigeria

Barbados and Nigeria have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to boost local pharmaceutical production, align regulatory frameworks, and expand mutual market access across the Caribbean, Latin America, and West Africa.

The agreement – signed in Nigeria between Barbados Pharmaceuticals Inc. (BPI) and Nigeria’s Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) – establishes a four-pillar collaboration: industrial and human capital development, market access and shaping, clinical trials cooperation, and regulatory, financing, and policy alignment.

The deal follows months of high-level talks, including discussions between Barbados’ Health Minister Jerome Walcott and Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate. It also builds on ongoing efforts with AMA Medical Manufacturing, a Nigerian biopharma firm exploring a manufacturing plant in Barbados.

“This MOU marks a decisive step toward health sovereignty for the Global South,” said Walcott, underscoring Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s vision of a transatlantic pharmaceutical corridor linking Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America.

Pate highlighted Nigeria’s goal – under President Bola Tinubu’s Executive Order – to domestically produce 70 percent of essential medicines and medical devices by 2030. “This partnership unlocks new avenues for investment, innovation, and regional integration,” he said.

Key outcomes include a Barbados–Nigeria pharmaceutical skills pathway focused on sterile manufacturing and regulatory training, as well as reciprocal market access: Nigerian producers into CARICOM and Latin America, and Barbadian manufacturers into ECOWAS.

The initiative lays the foundation for the first Africa–Caribbean pharmaceutical production corridor, with AMA Medical Manufacturing assessing a biomedical and IV fluid facility in Barbados.