NAFDAC Announces WHO Prequalification Approval of Finished Pharmaceutical Product Manufactured by Swiss Pharma (SWIPHA) Nigeria Limited
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has announced WHO prequalification approval of a finished pharmaceutical product manufactured by one of the country’s leading pharmaceutical companies, Swiss Pharma (SWIPHA) Nigeria Limited.
This announcement was made in a recent press briefing by the Director General of the Agency, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye. According to her, Pediatric Zinc Sulphate tablet (20mg dispersible tablet) manufactured by SWIPHA Nigeria Limited was in May this year added to the list of prequalified medicines by the global health body’s Prequalification Unit.
The agency boss who lauded the development added that it was the outcome of meaningful collaboration between the Agency and Swiss Pharma Nigeria Limited as well as a systematic implementation of the Agency’s policies of enhancing capacity of local drug manufacturers to meet global Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards. The DG is quoted as saying the policies aim “to improve local drug manufacturing in line with global best practice and assure improved the competitiveness of Nigerian Pharma Industry in the global space while projecting toward self-sufficiency in production of essential medicines.”
Commending the pharmaceutical company, the Agency staff and its partners, Prof. Adeyeye notes that “with this achievement, SWIPHA has added another first to its arsenal of firsts. Being the first manufacturer to be recognized by the WHO as operating at an acceptable level of compliance to GMP requirements in West Africa, the manufacturer is now also the first manufacturer of finished pharmaceutical product to attain prequalification of its product in the West Africa Sub-region.”
She therefore expresses the optimism that the development has reinforced the Agency’s conviction that with the right attitude, collaboration and synergy, Nigeria Pharma Industries can become a force to reckon with in Sub-Sahara Africa and in the comity of nations. According to her, “the WHO Prequalification of Medicines Programme (PQP) helps ensure that medicines supplied by international procurement agencies for distribution in resource-limited countries meet acceptable standards of quality, safety, and efficacy.” She further notes that this SWIPHA opportunity is a new source of business that will generate foreign currency to the company and Nigeria.
Health Insurance Today Magazine reports that zinc sulphate is a drug used to treat and prevent zinc deficiency in children.
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