By Muhammad Amaan
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has notified Nigerians about the illegal production and sale of unregistered B-GAG mist pot CIT syrup.
The alert is contained in a public in notice No. 023/2024, issued by the agency’s Director-General, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, in Abuja.
The unregistered product is alleged to have been sold by a company named Babban Gida Agalawa General Enterprises.
According to the statement, the product, being presented in a pet bottle, was discovered during a surveillance operation carried out by the NAFDAC Post Marketing Surveillance Directorate Officers in Maiduguri, Borno, and Keffi, Nasarawa States.
It said that the product was found to be without NAFDAC registration number and a misleading label.
NAFDAC in the statement said that illegal marketing of medicines or counterfeit medicines posed a risk to public health.
Prof. Adeyeye noted that without compliance with regulatory provisions the safety, quality, and efficacy of such products were not guaranteed.
The agency gave the batch number of the fake product as: 0070, manufacturing date as: 01/02/2024, as well as the expiring date as: 01/02/2027.
The director general also gave the address of the manufacturer as No. 883/884 Western Bypass Ring Road, Kumbosto Local Government, Kano State.
She further said that NAFDAC Zonal Directors and State Coordinators had been directed to carry out surveillance with a view to mopping up the illegal products within the zones and states.
She advised consumers and caregivers to avoid the use of the product, adding that all medical products must be obtained from authorised and licensed suppliers.
Adeyeye said that products’ authenticity and physical condition should be carefully checked before buying.
She also advised healthcare professionals and consumers to report any suspicion of either the sale of substandard and falsified medicines or medical devices to the nearest NAFDAC office.
Prof. Adeyeye called on the public to report any adverse reaction to NAFDAC on 0800-162-3322 or via email: sf.alert@nafdac.gov.ng.
She encouraged healthcare professionals and patients to report adverse events or side effects related to the use of medicinal products through NAFDAC E-reporting platforms.
The e-reporting platforms, according to her are: www.nafdac.gov.ng, the Med- safety application available for download on android, and IOS stores or via e-mail on pharmacovigilance@nafdac.gov.ng.
She said the notice about the product would be uploaded on the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Surveillance and Monitoring System (GSMS).
