Ghana must develop local capacity to produce pharmaceutical ingredients – Regulatory expert

Medicine regulatory and quality assurance expert and consultant Benjamin Botwe has urged Ghana to develop a strategic plan to build local capacity to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) as part of efforts to achieve health sovereignty.

He says the country must move beyond the packaging of imported pharmaceutical chemicals into finished medicines and invest in the capacity to manufacture the essential ingredients used in drug production.

According to him, Ghana's dependence on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients exposes weaknesses in its pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity and limits its ability to achieve self-sufficiency in the health sector.

Speaking at the 10th anniversary celebration of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Ho, in the Volta Region, Mr Botwe stressed the need for a deliberate policy direction to strengthen local pharmaceutical production.

“True health sovereignty means we move beyond simply packaging imported chemicals into capsules. We must build the local capacity to synthesise our own APIs,” he said.

He argued that achieving this goal would require closer regulatory alignment with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to ease operational barriers while maintaining internationally recognised quality standards.

Mr Botwe also expressed concern about Ghana's inability to translate pharmaceutical research into practical solutions, insisting that research outcomes must move beyond academic publications to support industrial development and innovation.

He urged the next generation of pharmacists to broaden their professional ambitions and explore opportunities beyond traditional clinical and community pharmacy practice.

While acknowledging the importance of pharmacists working in hospitals and community dispensaries, he maintained that the profession had a much wider role to play in strengthening Ghana's pharmaceutical industry.

“Clinical and community pharmacists are essential, but the dispensary counter is not the edge of your universe,” he said.

He identified industrial production, regulatory science, quality assurance and biomanufacturing as critical areas in which pharmacists could contribute to the country's development.

Mr Botwe challenged pharmacy students and young professionals to position themselves as problem-solvers who can address structural bottlenecks in the pharmaceutical sector rather than limit their career choices to conventional pathways.

He said the country needed a new generation of pharmacists equipped to drive innovation, strengthen local manufacturing and contribute to the development of a more resilient healthcare system.

The 10th anniversary celebration of the UHAS School of Pharmacy was held under the theme: “A Decade of Excellence, Advancing Pharmacy Education, Research and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing.”

The milestone provided an opportunity to reflect on the school's contribution to pharmacy education while highlighting the need to strengthen research, innovation and local pharmaceutical manufacturing in Ghana.