More than 70 per cent of medicines captured under the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control’s (NAFDAC) 5+5 regulatory policy are now being manufactured locally.
This marks a major shift from import dependence to domestic production in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical and medical devices sector.
Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, disclosed this on Wednesday during a media parley in Lagos, where she reviewed the agency’s regulatory reforms and achievements between 2018 and 2025.
According to her, the 5+5 policy—introduced in 2019 alongside the Ceiling List initiative—was designed to phase out the importation of selected medicines that Nigerian manufacturers have the capacity to produce locally.
“As of October 2025, more than 70 per cent of products under the 5+5 initiative and the Ceiling List are now locally manufactured,” Adeyeye said. She added that the import-to-local manufacturing ratio has improved from 70:30 in 2019 to 60:40 in 2025, reflecting growing investor confidence and regulatory predictability.
Under the policy, manufacturers were granted a five-year moratorium after an initial five-year product registration to either establish local manufacturing facilities or engage in contract manufacturing with qualified Nigerian companies.
This, according to the NAFDAC boss, has led to a surge in facility development and regulatory submissions. “A total of 161 facility layout reviews—65 from existing companies and 96 from new entrants—have been approved, alongside six new medical device manufacturing companies,” she said.
Several established international and local firms have since set up manufacturing operations or entered joint ventures in Nigeria.
Notable examples include Finecure of India partnering with Pinnacle Health Pharma, SD Biosensor of South Korea collaborating with Codix Bio, and Turkey’s Troment working with NASENI. Technology transfer agreements involving GSK and Fidson Healthcare Plc, as well as Innova Pvt India and Fidson, have further strengthened local capacity.
Beyond industrial growth, Adeyeye described the reduction in deaths linked to fake and substandard medicines as one of NAFDAC’s most outstanding achievements.
She noted that strengthened regulation, local production, and post-market surveillance have significantly curtailed the circulation of falsified medicines, contributing to a decline in avoidable deaths and a reduction in diseases such as cardiovascular conditions linked to unsafe and poorly regulated products.
While she did not give exact figures, the director general of NAFDAC said the agency has made arrests nationwide on an ongoing basis since 2018 as part of intensified enforcement against counterfeit medicines, unsafe foods, and dangerous chemicals.
“These battles are fought daily across our zones and states to safeguard the health of Nigerians,” she stressed.
Adeyeye also highlighted broader regulatory milestones, including NAFDAC’s ISO 9001 certification, WHO Maturity Level 3 benchmarking and re-benchmarking in 2025, and Nigeria’s admission into the International Council for Harmonisation (ICH).
“Modernisation is not aspirational—it is delivering measurable results for public health, local industry, and the economy,” she said.
She reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to advancing regulation through digitalisation, artificial intelligence, and continued support for local manufacturing, positioning Nigeria as a regional and global regulatory leader.
