Codix Pharma expands footprint with new high-impact diagnostic facility in Sagamu

Onome Amuge

L-R: Enitan Odeyemi, director, business development, Codix Pharma Ltd; Mary Ogangwu, chief operating officer, Codix Pharma Ltd; Kingsley Aguoru, chief operating officer, Colexa Biosensor Ltd; Olanrewaju Balaja, general manager plant operations, Codix Bio Ltd during the press conference to announce the upcoming commissioning of the Codix Bio Ltd Test Kit manufacturing factory held at the head office, Obanikoro, Lagos, Nigeria

Nigerian pharmaceutical firm Codix Pharma Ltd is set to commission Codix Bio Ltd, a cutting-edge in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) manufacturing facility in Sagamu, aimed at strengthening Africa’s healthcare independence.

The plant, according to the company, represents a major step in reducing the continent’s heavy reliance on imported rapid diagnostic test kits, with over 90 per cent currently sourced from Europe, Asia, North America, and the Middle East.

Following the development, Codix Bio will be the first facility of its scale in Nigeria and only the second of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa. Operations are slated to commence in May 2025, with the plant manufacturing critical diagnostic tools for diseases including malaria, HIV, and hepatitis B and C. This positions Nigeria as a potential regional leader in medical diagnostics manufacturing.

Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos, Mary Ogangwu, chief operating officer of Codix Pharma, emphasised the broader significance of the initiative. 

“This is bigger than us. It is about what is possible for Africa. For over two decades, Nigeria has imported these kits. Codix Bio is our answer to that dependency, a local solution to a continental problem,” she stated.

Founded in 2008, Codix Pharma initially focused on pharmaceuticals, particularly for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. However, recognising a pressing need for timely and accurate diagnostics, the company strategically shifted towards medical diagnostics. Codix Bio is the culmination of years of backward integration aimed at localising medical device production.

The new facility follows the successful launch of Colexa Biosensor in December 2023, sub-Saharan Africa’s first factory for manufacturing blood glucose meters and strips. Together, these two plants form a cornerstone of Codix Pharma’s ambition to become a leading health tech company in Africa by 2030.

Ogangwu stressed that Codix Bio has been developed with global quality standards in mind. “We are committed to meeting WHO prequalification standards and US FDA regulations. Our focus is on quality, safety, and efficacy,” she affirmed.

Olanrewaju Balaja, general manager of plant operations at Codix Bio Ltd, highlighted the factory’s adherence to international benchmarks such as ISO 13485 and the WHO’s Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). 

“We are creating diagnostic kits that meet the same standards as those approved by the world’s top health regulators. This will allow us not just to serve Nigeria but to export to West Africa and beyond,” he said.

The factory has completed its design, construction, and utility installation phases, including the establishment of clean-room environments and advanced air filtration systems. The company is currently in the final stages of qualification and validation ahead of its commissioning.

Nigeria aims to increase local production of pharmaceuticals to 70 per cent and IVDs to 30 per cent by 2030. Codix Bio is expected to play a crucial role in achieving this transition, offering a reliable domestic alternative to imported diagnostics and helping to mitigate issues such as stockouts, diagnostic delays, and treatment errors.

The establishment of Codix Bio also resonates with the World Health Organization’s advocacy for increased local production of health technologies in low- and middle-income countries to enhance access, affordability, and global health security.

“This is not just a facility, it’s a symbol of what is achievable when innovation meets the right intention. African problems can indeed have African solutions,” Ogangwu stated.

With the backing of regulatory bodies like NAFDAC and the government’s health industrialisation agenda, Codix Bio is poised to reshape the medical diagnostics landscape across the continent, beginning in Nigeria.