The Director General, National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Christiana Mojoshola Adeyeye, has said the agency under her leadership is committed to encouraging local manufacturers in Nigeria.

She said this in Lagos during the commissioning of Sam Pharmaceutical Limited, adding that it is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry. The DG said she has made efforts in encouraging local manufacturing in Nigeria, stressing that her leadership has been instrumental in shaping the pharmaceutical industry’s growth, particularly with the introduction of the Five Plus Five policy.

She said this bold initiative has encouraged local manufacturers to strive for excellence, resulting in a significant increase in local production, now standing at 50 per cent compared to the previous 30 per cent.

Adeyeye explained that the impact of her policies is evident in the strides made by companies like Sam Pharmaceuticals.

She said the event was not just to celebrate the opening of a new facility, but a milestone in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical journey.

“With more local manufacturing outfits emerging, we are seeing a shift towards self-sufficiency, making essential medicines more accessible and affordable,” she added.

She explained that NAFDAC’s five plus five policy drives foreign investment and strengthens local pharmaceutical production in Nigeria.

“Upon successful renewal for another five years for companies with verifiable blueprints, NAFDAC will monitor the migration of imported drugs to local production. At the end of year seven, first five years plus two years into renewal, if there is no progress on migration to local manufacturing as detailed in the blueprint, an alert for de-registration will be sent to the company at the beginning of year nine,” she said.

Adeyeye said for products that have already enjoyed more than two cycles of renewals, such companies are required to submit immediate blueprints on migration to local manufacturing. “Where a manufacturer has more than one product, a verifiable blueprint for local production of at least one product will be acceptable and allowed.”

She said the agency has continued to improve maturity level since the first WHO Audit in June 2019.

“NAFDAC had worked assiduously towards attaining maturity level three (ML3) to enable Nigeria to strengthen systems and manufacture vaccines. “This is also based on continuous self-audit in all regulatory processes that could improve the image of the agency and Nigeria.”

She said WHO re-benchmarked the agency between February 21 and 25, 2022, explaining that the ML3 rating means NAFDAC had been found to attain a stable, well-functioning, integrated regulatory system under her leadership.