NAFDAC Raises Alarm Over All Products Distributed By Europharm Laboratories, Begins Mop-Up

Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has issued a nationwide alert announcing an immediate mop-up of all products produced and distributed by Europharm Laboratories after an investigation uncovered widespread regulatory violations and alarming quality failures capable of endangering public health.

NAFDAC said the enforcement action followed credible intelligence and extensive surveillance, which revealed that Europharm Laboratories had been manufacturing, selling, and distributing several pharmaceutical and other regulated products without the mandatory marketing authorisation required by law.

Investigators who visited the company’s facility in the Anglo Jos Industrial Area of Zarmaganda, Plateau state, discovered multiple products being produced or circulated in clear breach of NAFDAC regulations.

Laboratory analysis conducted on some of the seized products confirmed serious quality defects, raising concern over the safety of medicines that had already entered circulation.

Particularly worrisome were the findings on Linmoxyn (Amoxicillin), one of Europharm’s widely distributed antibiotics. The product, tested in both suspension and capsule forms, returned extremely low active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) levels.

The agency said the suspension contained only 13.9% and 18.4% API—far below acceptable limits—while the 500mg capsule version showed an API level of just 48.3%, rendering it grossly substandard. Such low potency, NAFDAC warned, could lead to treatment failure, worsen infections, and fuel antibiotic resistance.

Beyond Linmoxyn, the regulatory team documented at least seventeen other products at the Europharm facility, all bearing NAFDAC registration numbers but implicated in the ongoing probe.

They include Linocloxin (Ampicillin & Cloxacillin) suspension, Linromycine (Erythromycin) suspension, Linocillin (Ampicillin) suspension, Eurogyl (Metronidazole) in both tablet and suspension forms, Euramol (Paracetamol) tablets, Euramox (Mebendazole) tablets, vitamin syrups, antacids, cough expectorants, chloroquine syrup, and blood tonics sold under the Fountain B-12 brand.

The agency said the discovery pointed to deep-rooted compliance failures in the company’s operations and made the mop-up exercise necessary to prevent further exposure of Nigerians to medicines that do not meet minimum quality standards. NAFDAC urged distributors, retailers, healthcare providers, and caregivers to exercise heightened vigilance across the supply chain to ensure that none of the affected products remain in circulation. It reinforced that all medical products must be sourced only from authorised suppliers and checked thoroughly for authenticity and physical quality.

Consumers and healthcare professionals were encouraged to report suspected cases of substandard or falsified medicines to the nearest NAFDAC office, through its toll-free line 0800-162-3322, or via email at [email protected], as the agency intensifies efforts to safeguard public health nationwide.