The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has said the nation’s pharmaceutical sector is currently under construction to increase local production of drugs.

Mrs Adeyeye, who made this known on Wednesday at the 7th Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers’ Expo, holding in Lagos, said the country had surpassed 30 per cent local drug production.

The Expo jointly organised by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN) and GPE Expo PVT. Ltd.

Mrs Adeyeye said that the pharmaceutical industry’s production had surpassed 30 per cent and was close to 40 per cent

She added that drug importation addiction would be reversed while local manufacturing would be intensified.

“This is because the only way to guarantee drug security, quality and affordability for Nigerians is through local production. NAFDAC is very much alive to her responsibility and that is the drive and implementation we are working on to increase local manufacturing to 70 per cent and importation to 10 per cent,’’ she said.

The D-G noted that recently the World Health Organisation added Sulfadoxine/Pyrimethamine antimalarial drugs by Swiss Pharma Nigeria Limited to its list of pre-qualified medicines.

Mrs Adeyeye, who described the development as a great feat, said Swiss Pharma has become the first indigenous manufacturer in Nigeria, West and Central Africa, to have two of its drugs added to WHO prequalified drugs.

She said that NAFDAC contributed technical support prior to WHO’s site inspection and valuable insight into objective review of Corrective and Preventive Actions to make it a reality.

“We now have two products that are pre-qualified and this is just the beginning because we are going to have more products that are locally made in Nigeria pre-qualified. We must be proud of our own but without a strong regulatory agency, we cannot achieve this,” she said.

Mrs Adeyeye, who commended PMG-MAN for organising the Expo,  reiterated the agency’s commitment to work with the organisation to improve the country’s pharmaceutical space.

(NAN)