The Managing Director of Swiss Pharma Nigeria Limited (Swipha), Gaby El Khoury, has disclosed that the pharmaceutical company closed down temporarily in order to the safeguard company’s properties and prevent any form of hostility.
El Khoury, who recalled in a statement issued at the weekend the circumstances that led to the acquisition of the company by a French pharmaceutical company – Biogran- in March last year, restated the new management’s confidence in the Nigerian economy and its commitment to ensure that the company continues its contributions to the nation’s development.
He stated: “Despite the tough economic situation in Nigeria, Biogaran, a subsidiary of Servier (the No. 2 French Pharmaceutical Group) that specializes in generics acquired Swiss Pharma Nigeria Limited (swipha) in March 2017, as part of its expansion plans to other African countries.
“Biogaran trusts in Nigeria and Nigerian people, and wishes to provide through Swipha to all Nigerians access to quality and affordable medicines. The decision to buy Swipha was taken despite the poor situation of the company which was at the period, short in cash and under threat of closure”, Gaby El Khoury added.
On what steps had been taken by the new management to re-vitalise the company, he explained that upon inception, the new management decided to lift the company up to its Group compliance and social policies, corporate governance and benefits for the employees.
This is even as he stated that the management decided to restructure the organisation to ensure efficiency by removing superfluous staff and eventually aligning the company with global best practices.
According to him, some of these policies appear to be unacceptable to some members of staff who preferred to slow down, then to hinder operation and embarked on strike since mid-December 2017 while all efforts to make them have a rethink about a promising future proved abortive.
Gaby El Khoury assured that the new management of Swipha strongly believed in Nigeria and was committed to its economic development.
To ensure the corporate objectives of the company are realized, he pointed out that the new management remained resilient in its quest to engage modern new ways of working, best in class practices and high-level compliance standards, notwithstanding the financial loses the company may incur during this time.
This is in addition to doing all it takes to ensure that the company maintains and strengthens its position as a leader in the pharmaceutical sector.
