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 for manufacture, importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale, and use within Nigeria. NAFDAC made this disclosure in a statement issued on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, directing the public to its website for the complete list.
The extensive list covers hundreds of items across various medicine and health product categories. These include antimalarials, such as various artemether/lumefantrine and artesunate amodiaquine formulations (e.g., ASAQ (Artesunate Amodiaquine Winthrop) Tablets and Artemether/Lumefantrine); cardiovascular drugs, including products containing valsartan and amlodipine (e.g., Aprovasc tablets, Amlodipine); and diabetes medicines, such as Januvia/Janumet and Amaryl tablets.
Other medications banned include Abacavir tablets, Combination 3 Tablets, insulin/growth-hormone injectables (e.g., Norditropin), inhalers, and eye drops. The affected products are associated with several well-known pharmaceutical companies, including Sanofi Aventis Nigeria Ltd, Novartis Nigeria Limited, Bayer East Africa Limited, Healthline Limited, and Fensyl MHP Consulting Ltd, among many others.
In its official statement, NAFDAC clarified the distinctions behind the actions taken. A Withdrawal occurs when the Certificate of Registration is discontinued at the request of the Market Authorisation Holder.
A Suspension may occur when the conditions upon which the NAFDAC Registration license was issued are no longer met, pending the Agency’s final determination. Finally, a Cancellation occurs when the NAFDAC Certificate of Registration license for the product is formally revoked by NAFDAC.
This significant action is part of a broader, global fight against the rising menace of fake and substandard medical products. Substandard and falsified medical products pose a critical public health risk, compromising health systems worldwide and affecting essential, life-saving treatments.
List of Withdrawn, Suspended and Cancelled products as approved by NAFDAC#NafdacALERTS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
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.)
