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 from manufacture, importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale, and use within Nigeria. NAFDAC disclosed this in a statement posted on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, directing the public to its website for the full list.
The extensive list covers a wide range of medicines and health products, including:
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Antimalarials: Various formulations of artemether/lumefantrine and artesunate/amodiaquine (e.g., ASAQ (Artesunate Amodiaquine Winthrop) Tablets and Artemether/Lumefantrine)
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Cardiovascular drugs: Products containing valsartan and amlodipine (e.g., Aprovasc tablets, Amlodipine)
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Diabetes medicines: Januvia, Janumet, and Amaryl tablets
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Other banned medications include Abacavir tablets, Combination 3 Tablets, insulin and growth hormone injectables (e.g., Norditropin), inhalers, and eye drops.
Many of the affected products come from well-known pharmaceutical companies such as Sanofi Aventis Nigeria Ltd, Novartis Nigeria Limited, Bayer East Africa Limited, Healthline Limited, and Fensyl MHP Consulting Ltd, among others.
In its statement, NAFDAC explained the differences in regulatory actions taken:
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Withdrawal: The Certificate of Registration is discontinued at the request of the Market Authorization Holder.
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Suspension: Occurs when conditions for the NAFDAC Registration license are no longer met, pending final determination by the Agency.
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Cancellation: The formal revocation of the NAFDAC Certificate of Registration license for the product.
This decisive move forms part of a broader global effort to combat the growing threat of fake and substandard medical products. Such products pose serious public health risks, undermining health systems worldwide and jeopardizing access to 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.)
List of Withdrawn, Suspended and Cancelled products as approved by NAFDAC#NafdacALERTS
See complete list (101 products) ➡️ https://t.co/J63sJMTMxY
This is to inform the General Public that the following products are approved for withdrawal, suspension and cancellation by… pic.twitter.com/s0PgqDEmM6
— NAFDAC NIGERIA (@NafdacAgency) September 30, 2025
