The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has tasked pharmaceutical companies in the country on trading their products across the continent with quality products that can be approved in the different countries through continental reliance among regulators.
The director-general of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, in a statement on Sunday said the call became necessary following the implementation of African Free Trade Agreement (AfcFTA) that allows free trade among African Countries.
Speaking on ‘’From Green to Gold: Operational Realities in the 21st Century at the 50th anniversary of Daily-Need Industries Limited’’ in Lagos, the DG emphasised that research and development is an important creativity and innovation that several companies will need to incorporate into the manufacturing environment.
This, she said will encourage research and clinical trials of new molecules, immune-modulators, complementary alternative medicines, especially for some non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, amongst others.
Adeyeye said Nigeria has long embraced the manufacturing of vaccines, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and excipients, stressing that “until we have at least five companies as a starter, making these pharmaceutical ingredients, and one or two companies manufacturing vaccines, Nigeria will remain insecure.”
The DG commended leadership of many pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria for rising to the occasion as increased improvement in the submission has been witnessed by NAFDAC, stressing that this is part of change management that is intricately linked to continuous quality monitoring.
