Wednesday, October 1, 2025 - The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has announced the immediate withdrawal, suspension, and cancellation of 101 pharmaceutical products, effectively banning them from the Nigerian market.
These products are now prohibited for manufacture,
importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale, and use within
Nigeria. NAFDAC made this disclosure in a statement issued on its official X
(formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, directing the public
to its website for the complete list.
The extensive list covers hundreds of items across various
medicine and health product categories. These include antimalarials, such as
various artemether/lumefantrine and artesunate amodiaquine formulations (e.g.,
ASAQ (Artesunate Amodiaquine Winthrop) Tablets and Artemether/Lumefantrine);
cardiovascular drugs, including products containing valsartan and amlodipine
(e.g., Aprovasc tablets, Amlodipine); and diabetes medicines, such as
Januvia/Janumet and Amaryl tablets.
Other medications banned include Abacavir tablets,
Combination 3 Tablets, insulin/growth-hormone injectables (e.g., Norditropin),
inhalers, and eye drops. The affected products are associated with several
well-known pharmaceutical companies, including Sanofi Aventis Nigeria Ltd,
Novartis Nigeria Limited, Bayer East Africa Limited, Healthline Limited, and
Fensyl MHP Consulting Ltd, among many others.
In its official statement, NAFDAC clarified the distinctions
behind the actions taken. A Withdrawal occurs when the Certificate of
Registration is discontinued at the request of the Market Authorisation Holder.
A Suspension may occur when the conditions upon which the
NAFDAC Registration license was issued are no longer met, pending the Agency’s
final determination. Finally, a cancellation occurs when the NAFDAC Certificate
of Registration license for the product is formally revoked by NAFDAC.
This significant action is part of a broader, global fight
against the rising menace of fake and substandard medical products. Substandard
and falsified medical products pose a critical public health risk, compromising
health systems worldwide and affecting essential, life-saving treatments.
The World Health Organization (WHO) previously estimated
that as many as 1 in 10 medicines in low- and middle-income countries fail
quality control tests, highlighting the severity of the problem.
The ban comes just days after NAFDAC sought the
collaboration of pharmacists across Nigeria to help tackle the issue of
substandard and falsified medicines. (Related: NAFDAC recently seized N1.2
billion worth of fake malaria drugs in Lagos and sealed an illegal cosmetic
factory, Shine Shine Skincare, over unsafe production.)
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