Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye
She, however, assured Nigerians that the various policy measures already put in place by the government will soon begin to reflect positively in the cost of essential medical commodities.
However, to achieve the goal, the NAFDAC boss stressed the need for rejuvenation of the local pharmaceutical industry as a panacea for the high cost of medicines in the country, adding that locally manufactured medicinal products would be more accessible and affordable compared to the imported drugs.
Prof. Adeyeye reiterated that NAFDAC under her leadership started the “5 plus 5” regulatory scheme to encourage local pharmaceutical industry to grow, explaining that it’s a system
where a company that has been importing drugs that the local pharmaceutical industry is able to produce will get a last five-year renewal.
She further explained: “We insisted that during the five-year renewal period, the importer must migrate to local manufacturing or partner with local manufacturer. This is an outcome of a study that was done in 2019 that revealed that the top five drugs that are imported are also the top five drugs that are manufactured in Nigeria.
“From that initiative, many importers started building their own companies or partnering with local manufacturers through contract manufacturing. That’s the way to make drug available, accessible.”
The NAFDAC boss further explained that the Agency also did another policy change called NAFDAC Ceiling 34, wherein drugs under those ceiling cannot be imported.
