By Chioma Obinna
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, on Sunday disclosed that its 5+5 policy and Ceiling List initiative have triggered a major shift in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry, cutting imports of affected medicines by 70 per cent and raising the ratio of locally manufactured pharmaceutical products from 30 per cent to 50 per cent.
The Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, who disclosed this at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Invest in Nigeria Conference and Expo 4.0, said the regulatory measures had also stimulated new investments, contract manufacturing and expansion of existing production facilities.
Adeyeye urged foreign investors from more than 43 countries represented at the conference to take advantage of the changing regulatory environment and the incentives provided by the Federal Government to establish manufacturing operations in Nigeria.
She said the number of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in the country had increased from 174 to 190, while a total of 176 pharmaceutical companies had undergone layout review and approval by NAFDAC as of June 2026.
