NAFDAC Approves 105 Applications for Drug Manufacturing Plants

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has approved 105 applications for the establishment of pharmaceutical products manufacturing plants in Nigeria.

The president’s special assistant on social media, Dada Olusegun, announced this on his social media page on Monday.

He explained that the approval followed the exit of some multinational pharmaceutical firms from Nigeria.

He said that 103 applications were approved by NAFDAC, out of 143 after meeting the good manufacturing practice guidelines set up by the World Health Organization and NAFDAC.

The Director General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, 35 percent of the approved applications have completed construction and are at different stages in the registration stream as prescribed by extant NAFDAC’s guidelines on the establishment of pharmaceutical plants in Nigeria.

Read Also:

NAFDAC to Ban Sale and Use of Alcoholic Beverages in Packages below 200 Ml

The agency also revealed that over 20 newly registered local drug manufacturers have cumulatively invested over $2 billion in the erection and completion of WHO-compliant facilities that manufacture quality pharmaceuticals and essential medicines for Nigerians.

This figure, according to NAFDAC, represents an increase of 12 percent in the number of active local manufacturers.

Sequel to its over-dependence and reliance on importation, Nigeria is currently battling a national shortage in drug supply as multinational pharmaceutical companies, like GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Sanofi, exit the country.

But Mrs Adeyeye said though the local manufacturing companies are not replacements for the global giant drugmakers exiting the country, they are signs of progress for Nigeria.