The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has announced the immediate ban of 101 pharmaceutical products from the Nigerian market.
In a statement released on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, NAFDAC said the affected products have been withdrawn, suspended, or had their licenses cancelled, making them illegal for manufacture, importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale, and use in the country.
The banned products cut across multiple categories of medicines and health products. They include:
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Antimalarials: various artemether/lumefantrine and artesunate amodiaquine formulations such as ASAQ (Artesunate Amodiaquine Winthrop) Tablets and Artemether/Lumefantrine.
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Cardiovascular drugs: products containing valsartan and amlodipine such as Aprovasc tablets and Amlodipine.
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Diabetes medicines: Januvia, Janumet, and Amaryl tablets.
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Other drugs such as Abacavir tablets, Combination 3 Tablets, insulin/growth-hormone injectables (e.g., Norditropin), inhalers, and eye drops.
The list features products from several well-known pharmaceutical companies including Sanofi Aventis Nigeria Ltd, Novartis Nigeria Limited, Bayer East Africa Limited, Healthline Limited, and Fensyl MHP Consulting Ltd.
Why the Ban?
NAFDAC explained that:
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A Withdrawal occurs when the Certificate of Registration is discontinued at the request of the Market Authorisation Holder.
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A Suspension happens when the conditions of registration are no longer met, pending further review.
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A Cancellation means the product’s Certificate of Registration has been formally revoked by NAFDAC.
The agency stressed that this sweeping action is part of the global fight against fake and substandard medicines, which pose a grave threat to public health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 1 in 10 medicines in low- and middle-income countries fail quality control tests.
Just last week, NAFDAC sought the support of pharmacists nationwide to help curb the menace of falsified medical products. The agency also recently seized N1.2 billion worth of fake malaria drugs in Lagos and sealed an illegal cosmetic factory, Shine Shine Skincare, over unsafe production practices.
This latest ban signals NAFDAC’s determination to protect Nigerians from dangerous and ineffective medicines that compromise life-saving treatments.
