National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has shut down six pharmaceutical manufacturers for non-compliance with Good manufacturing Practice (GMP).
Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, director general of the Agency, declared this in a statement by Mr Sayo Akintola, Resident Media Consultant, NAFDAC, and made available on Monday, in Abuja.
Accoeding to Adeyeye, the action of NAFDAC was in accordance with its zero tolerance for circulation of substandard and falsified medicines in the country.
“The Pharmaceutical companies were shut down following a nationwide surveillance of their manufacturing activities. These local manufacturers, in spite of appropriate notification, failed to meet minimum Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards in line with extant requirements to assure the quality, safety and efficacy of Pharmaceutical products”.
She expressed dissatisfaction with the affected manufacturers for their failure to meet up with even the minimum GMP, in spite of the notifications given to them.
The Director General, who reiterated the determination of her agency to end the circulation of substandard and falsified medicines in Nigeria, said such unpatriotic activities were uncovered following a nationwide surveillance exercise.
Adeyeye explained that the punitive measure meted out to the companies would serve as deterrent to others, both local and foreign, that failed to comply with GMP requirements, adding that defaulting companies would remain closed until they complied.
She further said a foreign manufacturer of Finished Pharmaceutical Products (FPPs) was recently blacklisted and their local representative delisted for gross violation of NAFDAC’s extant laws and regulations.
Adeyeye reaffirmed NAFDAC’s commitment to safeguard public health and its relentless efforts in ensuring that only medicines that were safe, efficacious and of good quality were accessible to the country’s population.
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