The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration & Control, NAFDAC said it shut down the operations of Peace Standard Pharmaceutical ltd., BIORAJ Pharmaceutical Ltd. both in Ilorin, Kwara, and the Emzor Pharmaceuticals Ind. Lagos due to the companies’ inability to provide required documents on their use of codeine during the inspection of the facilities.
The Nigerian government had announced a ban on the production and import of cough syrup containing codeine last week.
This was after a BBC documentary on abuse of codeine-based cough syrups, especially in northern part of Nigeria.
The three companies shut by NAFDAC were indicted in the BBC documentary.
According to NAFDAC, a team of nine officers was sent to carry out an investigational inspection at the companies which were licensed to manufacture codeine-containing syrup, and which were implicated in a BBC documentary on May 2 and 3
The agency added that the team which comprised two officials from Drug and Evaluation Research – DER and seven from Investigation & Enforcement – I&E of NAFDAC and ten mobile police officers were sent to the company to access and monitor from records the utilization, sales and effective distribution of the codeine-containing cough syrups to the end users.
But it added that the companies refused to cooperate with the officials of NAFDAC to carry out the task.
“Due to insufficient evidence gathered and apparent resistance to provide needed documents during an inspection on May 2, 2018, at the respective companies in Ilorin and Lagos, respectively, it has become necessary to shut down all product lines of the three companies. NAFDAC, Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye said in a statement on Monday.
NAFDAC said the closure of the three companies was “to allow for a full and comprehensive investigation; the three companies, therefore, remain closed.’’
“The reopening of the manufacturing companies will depend on the level of cooperation that is shown during the comprehensive investigation,’’ the statement said.
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