The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, has suspended the use of Tryonex, a brand of Antiretroviral, ARVs, medicines in the country. This was due to concerns expressed by Treatment Action Movement, TAM, a coalition of HIV activists in Nigeria and other similar organisations.

Distributed under the Federal Government’s National HIV/AIDS program, Tryonex is a local brand of ARV medicine produced byTryonex Nigeria Limited, a Lagos-based company, with funding from the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, funds through the Federal Ministry of Health. It contains Zidovudine, Lamivudine and Nevirapine.

The latter of the three is no longer accepted for use by the World Health Organisation but is still in circulation in Nigerian hospitals.

In July 2013, the Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, John Idoko, confirmed in an interview that Nevirapine was still in circulation in Nigerian hospitals but would be gradually phased out.

A document dated December 20, 2013, signed by the Director, Pharmacovigilance unit of NAFDAC, Adeline Osakwe, on behalf of the agency’s Director General and addressed to all Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) Centres, stated, “NAFDAC in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, FMOH, and NASCP commenced immediate investigations into the quality and associated clinical issues which is ongoing. Pending the final outcome of this investigation, ART centres are advised to immediately switch their patients to alternative brands of ARVs. Furthermore, NAFDAC directs the immediate suspension of all Tryonex brands of ARV medicines in all ART centres in the country until a definitive status of safety and quality of the Tyonex brand of ARVs are determined. This is with immediate effect to enable us safeguard Public Health.”

The eventual suspension was due to TAM members’ going to hospitals to physically cart away all consignments of the drug to prevent its further use by People Living With HIV/AIDS, PLWH.