NAFDAC may open offices in India

Nigeria’s medicines regulatory authority is planning to open up to three offices in India as part of its ongoing efforts to tackle the trade in counterfeit medicines.

The Director-General of Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii, said that the office would allow greater communication between the regulatory agency and Indian drugmakers and help “fight the counterfeit drug menace,” according to a report in Indian newspaper the Economic Times.

The intention is to set up a registration scheme for Indian companies which export medicines for sale in Nigeria, according to the paper.

India is one of the largest exporters of medicines into Nigeria, with an estimated 12 to 15 per cent market share, and the country is keen to maintain its reputation as a supplier of quality medicines for Nigeria.

That reputation was dented by the seizure in June of a large consignment of fake anti-malarial drugs labelled as 'Made in India’ whih were subsequently found to have originated from China. The case has since been referred to Interpol for further investigation.

A delegation headed by Orhii visited India earlier this month and discussed the issue of counterfeit medicines with the authorities, as well as the implications of Nigeria’s ongoing programme of measures to fight the trade.

Orhii is also vice-chair of the International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT), and sought to allay fears that the actions of the group – and in particular work on a new definition of counterfeit medicines – would block legitimate trade in Indian generic medicines.


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