The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has alerted Nigerians to the circulation of counterfeit Artemether/Lumefantrine tablets sold under the brand name Aflotin 20/120mg in the country.
The agency, in a post on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, said the counterfeit product was discovered and reported by Ajanta Pharma Limited, a pharmaceutical company based in Mumbai, India.
According to NAFDAC, Ajanta Pharma manufactured a genuine product with batch number PA2128L in December 2018, which had an expiry date of November 2020.
However, the batch—originally created for Combisunate 20/120 (Artemether 20mg/Lumefantrine 120mg tablets) and packaged as 30 x 24 tablets—was found to have been counterfeited and repackaged as Aflotin 20/120mg with a pack size of 1 x 18 tablets.
The agency said the counterfeit product bore overprinted information that did not align with the company’s usual packaging style, further confirming its illegitimacy.
“The genuine Aflotin 20/120 tablet is a combination of Artemether and Lumefantrine (20mg/120mg) used for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum,” NAFDAC said.
It warned that counterfeit medicines posed a serious public health risk because they do not meet regulatory standards, and their safety, quality, and efficacy could not be guaranteed.
“The use of counterfeit medicines may lead to treatment failure, prolonged illness, or death,” the agency stated.
NAFDAC said it had directed all its zonal directors and state coordinators to carry out surveillance and mop-up operations to remove the counterfeit product from circulation.
The agency urged healthcare providers, distributors, retailers, and the general public to be vigilant and ensure that medical products are sourced from authorised and licensed suppliers.
It also called on Nigerians to report any suspicion of counterfeit medicines to the nearest NAFDAC office.
