The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has expressed fulfillment over the addition of Pediatric Zinc Sulphate tablet (20mg dispersible tablet) manufactured by Swiss Pharma Nigeria Limited to the list of World Health Organisation prequalified medicines.
The NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, in a statement, said that the feat was no doubt the outcome of meaningful collaboration between SWIPHA and NAFDAC as well as a systematic implementation of policies.
She said, “On the 2nd of May 2023, the WHO Prequalification Unit added Pediatric Zinc Sulphate tablet (20mg dispersible tablet) manufactured by Swiss Pharma Nigeria Limited to its list of prequalified medicines (Swiss Pharma Nigeria’s dispersible zinc tablet prequalified | WHO – Prequalification of Medical Products (IVDs, Medicines, Vaccines and Immunisation Devices, Vector Control).
“This laudable feat is no doubt the outcome of meaningful collaboration between Swiss Pharma Nigeria Limited and NAFDAC as well as a systematic implementation of policies earlier mentioned. With this achievement, SWIPHA has added another first to its arsenal of firsts. Being the first manufacturer to be recognised 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 products to attain prequalification of its product in the West Africa Sub-region.”
She explained that it took a lot of effort and self-determination for the Company to attain the heroic accomplishment of getting its product prequalified, adding that NAFDAC personnel provided immense technical support during the palatability studies for the now prequalified product.
“WHO Prequalification is the fundamental prerequisite for quality assurance of key medical products to be purchased by UN agencies, and international organisations like Global Funds and United States Agency for International Development to procure and distribute products locally and internationally.
“Today SWIPHA has this opportunity. Therefore, it is a new source of business, and this will generate foreign currency for the company and Nigeria.”
Adeyeye explained that “WHO Prequalification is the fundamental prerequisite for quality assurance of key medical products to be purchased by UN agencies, and international organisations like Global Funds and United States Agency for International Development to procure and distribute products locally and internationally. Today SWIPHA has this opportunity. Therefore, it is a new source of business, and this will generate foreign currency for the company and Nigeria.”
She enjoined other frontline local drug manufacturers, in particular, to emulate this feat through the harmonisation of collective aspiration and synergy of effort with the agency.
“We can together as a team achieve more. As a customer-focused and Agency-minded organisation, our doors are open to serious-minded manufacturers who intend to achieve a similar feat and attain global recognition as provided by the WHO prequalification programme.”
