President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, have backed efforts to boost Nigeria’s capacity to produce advanced medical therapies locally and reduce the country’s dependence on imported healthcare products.
Their positions came during the launch of Atunse Healthcare in Lagos, where the company unveiled plans to manufacture and distribute advanced regenerative biologics in Nigeria, train local scientists and clinicians, and expand access to specialised medical treatments.
The initiative is aimed at reducing medical tourism and retaining patients, capital and medical expertise within the country.
Speaking at the African Regenerative Medicine and Longevity Summit in Lagos, Dangote, who was represented by Fatima Aliko Dangote, Group Executive Director, Commercial Operations for Oil & Gas at Dangote Industries, said the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the risks associated with Africa’s heavy reliance on imported medical products.
“COVID-19 taught us a very important lesson: dependence is a vulnerability,” Dangote said.
He noted that the pandemic showed how countries prioritised their own populations during a global health crisis, particularly in the supply of vaccines, diagnostics and essential medicines.
According to him, Nigeria and other African countries must transition from being consumers of advanced medical products to becoming producers of medical technologies.
“That is why initiatives like Atunse are important. We must begin to ask ourselves: how do we move from being consumers of advanced medicine to becoming producers of it?” he said.
Dangote said Nigeria has the talent, entrepreneurial energy and market required to establish a strong medical manufacturing ecosystem but needs greater collaboration between investors, scientists, businesses and strategic partners.
He also called for stronger cooperation between government and the private sector to create an enabling environment for sustainable growth in the healthcare industry.
Speaking on behalf of Governor Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said initiatives such as Atunse could help tackle Nigeria’s brain drain by encouraging experienced Nigerian doctors, scientists and other health professionals abroad to return home.
“We need our own experienced specialists back to do this. When we start seeing initiatives like this, it starts to encourage our own experienced specialists to come back home,” Abayomi said.
He described regenerative medicine as an emerging area with significant potential for Nigeria, stressing that the country must develop the necessary scientific institutions, infrastructure and skilled workforce to take advantage of the sector.
Abayomi added that government could not transform the healthcare industry alone, urging universities, researchers, healthcare providers and private-sector investors to strengthen collaboration.
Earlier, President and Chairman of Atunse Healthcare, Prof. Kamar Adeleke, said the company was established to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on foreign countries for advanced medical treatment.
“For a generation, the most advanced medicine available has been something Nigerians travelled for — if they could afford the journey,” Adeleke said.
He said Atunse was established to ensure that Nigerians could access advanced medical treatment locally rather than depend on overseas providers.
Adeleke said the company currently provides services across six areas: aesthetic medicine, longevity and vitality, men’s wellness, women’s wellness, musculoskeletal support and neurological care.
He claimed that Africa imports about 99 per cent of its vaccines and more than 95 per cent of its medicines, while producing less than one per cent of its vaccine supply.
He also cited an estimated $2.39 billion spent by Nigerians on overseas medical treatment in 2024, noting that the wider impact went beyond the financial cost.
According to him, many Nigerians who cannot afford to travel abroad are also unable to access advanced medical care.
Atunse Healthcare, Adeleke explained, is a partnership between KweHealth LLC of the United States, which provides scientific and manufacturing expertise, and Tri-State Healthcare System of Nigeria, which contributes clinical delivery and institutional capacity.
The company’s strategy covers clinical delivery, advanced biomanufacturing, research and clinical translation, as well as regulatory capacity.
Adeleke said Atunse was working towards establishing cGMP-grade production of advanced biologics in Nigeria, with a long-term plan to develop vaccines, cell therapies and gene therapies.
He stressed that local manufacturing must be accompanied by the development of indigenous expertise.
“A country which manufactures without training its own scientists, and without governing its own standards, has substituted one dependency for another,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Atunse Healthcare, Dr Sola Oluwole, said medical tourism was costing Nigeria more than money.
“What Nigeria loses is not only money. It is the demand, the capital and the clinical talent that need never have left,” Oluwole said.
He added that the company intended to establish treatment, manufacturing and distribution capabilities in Nigeria while developing the workforce required to sustain them.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, represented by Khadijah Ade-Abolade, Director of the Vaccines, Biologics and Medical Devices Registration Directorate, pledged regulatory support for responsible innovation.
Adeyeye said NAFDAC was restructuring its operations to respond to emerging medical technologies while ensuring that new therapies meet safety, quality and effectiveness requirements.
She, however, warned against unverified medical claims and the marketing of unapproved stem-cell products by wellness centres and online vendors.
The Atunse launch comes amid increasing calls for Nigeria and other African countries to expand local pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing, reduce dependence on imports and build healthcare systems capable of retaining patients, capital and medical expertise on the continent.