Bond Chemical Industries Limited, a Nigerian pharmaceutical company, has been producing hydroxyurea, a medicine used to treat sickle cell disease, in the country. The company, which started as a pharmacy outlet in Lagos in 1976, has expanded its operations to include pharmaceutical importation, distribution, and manufacturing. Its production facility in Awe, Oyo State, was commissioned in 1988, and it has since become a major manufacturer of medicines in Nigeria, including hydroxyurea, marketed as Oxyurea.
Hydroxyurea is a well-known medicine in sickle cell care, and Oxyurea has become an important part of modern disease-modifying treatment for people living with sickle cell disease. A study conducted at Jos University Teaching Hospital followed 54 children aged four to 17 with sickle cell anaemia who were treated with hydroxyurea for 12 months. The researchers reported reductions in painful crises, acute chest syndrome, blood transfusions, and prolonged hospital admissions, with median foetal haemoglobin increasing from 7.8 per cent to 14 per cent.
The Oxyurea story does not end in Jos, as researchers have also examined the use of hydroxyurea in primary stroke prevention among Nigerian children with sickle cell anaemia. The Stroke Prevention in Nigeria, or SPIN, programme conducted a feasibility study, which led to the SPRING trial, a multicentre, double-blind, randomised Phase 3 study involving 220 Nigerian children. The study compared low-dose and moderate-dose hydroxyurea in children with sickle cell anaemia who had abnormal transcranial Doppler measurements, indicating increased stroke risk.
The SPRING researchers used 100 mg, 250 mg, and 500 mg capsules of hydroxyurea supplied by Bond Chemical in Nigeria. Although the study did not find a statistically significant difference in stroke incidence between the two dosing groups, hospitalisation rates were lower in the moderate-dose group. The researchers noted that Bond produces hydroxyurea at a subsidised cost, making it a potentially sustainable solution for people living with sickle cell disease in Nigeria.
The sustainability of hydroxyurea production and distribution is crucial for people living with sickle cell disease in Nigeria. Clinical research can demonstrate that an intervention works, but people living with sickle cell disease have to be able to obtain treatment outside a clinical trial. Medicines must be manufactured, distributed, prescribed, monitored, and, crucially, affordable enough for patients and health systems to access them.
Despite the progress made, important questions remain about the availability and affordability of Oxyurea across Nigeria today. How widely available is Oxyurea, and how affordable is it for the average family? Is supply consistent, and how does the company maintain manufacturing quality? How many people with sickle cell disease currently have access to hydroxyurea, and what more could government, pharmaceutical manufacturers, clinicians, and patient organisations do together to improve access?
The story of Bond Chemical Industries Limited and Oxyurea is part of a much bigger conversation about whether countries carrying some of the world’s greatest disease burdens can also build the research, manufacturing capacity, and healthcare systems needed to respond to them. For Nigeria, which carries an enormous burden of sickle cell disease, it is a conversation worth continuing. A Nigerian company manufacturing hydroxyurea used in Nigerian sickle cell research is one example of what that can look like.
Key points
- - A Nigerian pharmaceutical company, Bond Chemical Industries Limited, produces hydroxyurea, a medicine used to treat sickle cell disease, in the country. - The company's product, Oxyurea, has been used in Nigerian sickle cell research, including a study on primary stroke prevention among children with sickle cell anaemia. - The sustainability of hydroxyurea production and distribution is crucial for people living with sickle cell disease in Nigeria.
