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NAFDAC DG, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has blacklisted an Indian pharmaceutical company, Aveo Pharmaceuticals Pvt Limited, for producing harmful, addictive pills capable of causing death.
NAFDAC’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, announced the decision at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, revealing that the company operates from the outskirts of Mumbai, India.
According to Adeyeye, the company produces and exports addictive pills containing a harmful combination of Tapentadol—a powerful opioid—and Carisoprodol, a banned muscle relaxant with addictive properties.
The combination, sold under brand names Tafrodol and Royal 225, poses a high risk of overdose and death.
The NAFDAC boss said a BBC World Service investigation uncovered the circulation of the products in Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire, with the pills branded with Aveo’s logo.
“Aveo Pharmaceuticals, India, is also implicated in the manufacture of high-dose tramadol for export to West African countries, including Nigeria,” Adeyeye stated.
She clarified that NAFDAC had never registered Tafrodol, Royal 225, or any tramadol product above 100mg, nor had the agency approved any product from Aveo Pharmaceuticals.
Citing the NAFDAC Act Cap N.1 LFN 2004 and the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs Act Cap C.34 LFN 2004, the agency announced the blacklisting of Aveo Pharmaceuticals, vowing not to register any of its products in the future.
“The public is advised to support NAFDAC’s fight against fake, substandard, and falsified pharmaceutical products by avoiding unregistered medicines and only using drugs prescribed by trained medical professionals,” Adeyeye added.
She revealed that an undercover operative posing as an African businessman recorded a secret meeting with one of Aveo’s directors, Vinod Sharma, who admitted exporting large consignments of the pills across West Africa for abuse as street drugs.
Adeyeye warned that the drugs, which are not licensed anywhere in the world, could cause breathing difficulties, seizures, and even death. Despite the dangers, they remain popular in many West African countries due to their cheap price and wide availability.
The NAFDAC DG assured that the agency would continue its efforts to ensure that only quality, safe, and effective medicines are available in Nigeria through measures like Good Manufacturing Practice inspections, Post-Marketing Surveillance, Pre-Shipment Inspection Scheme and Laboratory testing of registered products.
She added that the agency had intensified its enforcement against the sale of counterfeit drugs in major distribution hubs across the country.
Adeyeye emphasised that with continued collaboration between NAFDAC, security agencies, and the public, Nigeria would become an uncomfortable place for the sale and distribution of fake and substandard pharmaceutical products.
“NAFDAC remains committed to its mandate of safeguarding the health of Nigerians,” she assured.
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