Mapping the strength of sectoral innovation system in the Nigerian pharmaceutical industry: Empirical evidence

It is well known that innovation in the modern economy is driven by interactions among the stakeholders that make up the innovation system. Effective interactions among key actors in an innovation system foster flow of knowledge and resources development and commercialization of new products. This study assesses the depth of research and development (R&D) and level of interaction existing among key elements in the Nigerian pharmaceutical industry. Data were obtained from thirty-two manufacturing pharma firms, and sixty-nine researchers from faculties of pharmacy across Nigerian universities and three key research institutes with drug-related mandates. The results reveal poor synergy in research among the actors, and weak academia-industry interaction as only about one-third of industrial firms indicated active collaboration with knowledge institutions. More pertinently, over two-third of researchers in universities rated research-industry collaborations on most of the key aspects considered to be at least weak, Contract research and joint R&D activities were equally rated weak. The study concludes that the pharma innovation system in Nigeria requires serious government interventions by creating robust platform to promote productive interactions between these actors.