Pharmaceutical pricing researcher Tolulope Jagun has warned that rising out-of-pocket medicine costs are driving non-adherence to treatment among Nigerian patients, threatening disease management outcomes nationwide.

Presenting his paper “High Out-of-Pocket Costs and Medication Non-Adherence” at the 5th BioPharma Supply Chain & Logistics Nexus in New Jersey (2024), Jagun said that the financial burden of healthcare continues to erode patient compliance, especially for those living with chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension.

“When medicine becomes a financial burden, adherence becomes a luxury,” he said, noting that more than half of patients on long-term therapy either skip doses or discontinue treatment due to cost pressures.

Jagun explained that out-of-pocket expenditure still accounts for over 70 per cent of total healthcare spending in Nigeria — one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa. This, he argued, creates a structural affordability crisis that continues to undermine the country’s universal health coverage ambitions.

Drawing on his corporate experience at Sanofi, Jagun highlighted how targeted subsidy schemes and digital delivery systems can help improve medication adherence. “We built a digital platform that ensured insulin reached the last mile faster and at a fairer price,” he said.

He added that well-designed patient-assistance programmes can narrow affordability gaps for chronic conditions, where continuity of care determines patient outcomes.

At the New Jersey conference, Jagun joined global experts to discuss sustainable access models for pharmaceutical companies. He argued that pricing reform and supply-chain transparency must go hand-in-hand, ensuring medicines are not only affordable but also accessible and properly distributed.

“Access cannot be improved by pricing alone,” he said. “It must be supported by a supply chain that guarantees medicines arrive in the right condition, quantity, and time.”

Jagun, who has delivered lectures across Europe and North America, stressed the need for proactive health-economics planning in Nigeria. He urged policymakers to embed affordability metrics and adherence indicators within national health budgets and performance evaluations.

“We can’t solve adherence problems with guesswork,” he said. “Data must guide every affordability intervention.”

Recognised for his leadership in pharmaceutical economics and healthcare sustainability, Jagun has helped shape policy discussions on pricing fairness and patient equity across West Africa. His efforts earned him the Blue Ocean Award for exceptional performance at Sanofi in 2022.

He believes improving treatment adherence requires a multi-stakeholder effort involving government, insurers, manufacturers, and pharmacists. “The patient’s pocket should no longer determine whether treatment succeeds,” he said.

Jagun concluded that affordability reform is not optional but essential. “When we make medicines affordable, we save both lives and futures,” he said.