NAFDAC DG calls for international partners support for indigenous vaccine manufacturing
The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye has solicited the support of international partners in contributing to the establishment of vaccines manufacturing facilities in Nigeria.
The DG NAFDAC made the call at the 8th Nigeria Pharma Manufacturers’ Expo jointly organised in Lagos by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN) and PGE Expo PVT Limited, where she acknowledged the continued support of international partners in the agency’s trajectory in attaining Maturity Level 3.
Prof Adeyeye told the array of international organisations with remarkable footprints in the healthcare space medicare around the world that their contributions would be immensely appreciated in the fill and finish modular vaccine manufacturing in Nigeria.
According to the NAFDAC boss, NAFDAC has nine functions and requirements to meet to become fully benchmarked for medicines and vaccines.
She said that the agency had only been benchmarked in eight, leaving out the last one, which is Lot Release for vaccines.
“We want to call on our international partners that have been of tremendous help. Without them we wouldn’t have been here. I want to challenge them to contribute, to fill and finish Modular Vaccine manufacturing so that we can get our Vaccine Lot Release,” she reiterated, adding that Nigeria has all it takes for the attainment aside from the local vaccines manufacturing.
“To get Lot Release -Maturity Level 4, we have figured it out in a way we have estimated. It’s not going to cost too much. We will share that with you. Because we cannot afford to go back to where we used to be,” she said.
She recalled with nostalgia that NAFDAC used to manufacture vaccine, adding that it is high time we went back to vaccine manufacturing.
She also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his game changing Executive Order 2024 which brought life to NAFDAC’s persistent clamour for incentives for the local pharma manufacturers who had been operating under harsh economic conditions over the years.
“I understand the stress our manufacturers are going through. Our manufacturers are patriots because they could have given up. I was championing incentives for the manufacturers until President Tinubu came on board with the Executive Order of 2024,” she said.
“Nobody heard of us outside the regulatory and manufacturing industry and the gain that we have attained from regulatory and industry were not brought to the surface until the President came up with the Executive Order,” she explained.
She maintained that both the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare and his Minister of State for Health at that time also bought into the rationale that we needed to give incentives, noting that that was partly how the initiative of unlocking the value chain came up.
“It has been a journey,” she said, adding that she started with Good Manufacturing Practice Roadmap when NAFDAC inspectors went around the country for eight months for GMP compliance audit of over 165 companies.
She added that the manufacturers were prepared to ensure that the health of our citizenry is top priority and their standing in the international market with quality products is enhanced.
Prof Adeyeye noted that this was made possible because NAFDAC kept improving the competence of NAFDAC staff.
She added that these efforts had earned the agency recognition by international institutions.
“We became a member of International Medical Device Forum in 2023. Our Lab in Yaba became WHO Pre-qualified in September 2023,” she revealed.
She explained that WHO doesn’t give Maturity Level 3 as a one-off crown kind-of-thing. Rather, she said they come back and re-benchmarked the Agency to make sure that NAFDAC has remained strong, consistent and resilient. She said NAFDAC became the first agency in Sub Saharan Africa to be re-benchmarked successfully the first time.
The Chaiman of PMG-MAN, Mr Oluwatosin Jolayemi said the gathering is the only platform for complete pharma manufacturing expo in Central and West Africa, bringing together manufacturers, regulators, investors, development partners and other critical stakeholders to showcase industry capabilities, forge partnerships and shape the future of the industry.
Mr. Jolayemi, who also doubles as the Managing Director/ CEO of Daily Need limited, commended Prof Adeyeye for her steadfastness towards ensuring that the industry moves in the direction of international best practices in quality and GMP compliance.
He noted with delight that NAFDAC’s policies are beginning to change the ecosystem, stressing that the gains must be sustained.
He, however, called for an extension of the presidential executive order for another two years at the expiration in March 2027 on the premise that journey towards Medicine Security and Pharma Sovereignty is not a short-term intervention, adding that it requires policy consistency, investment, capability development and a predictable operating environment.
A total of 132 participating companies from the U.S. China, Argentina, Egypt, India, Rwanda, Austria, UAE, France, Germany, Indonesia and Nigeria amongst others took part in the two – day expo.