Indian Pharmaceutical Supplier to Nigeria.
Nigeria is the single largest destination for Indian pharmaceutical exports in sub-Saharan Africa, and our busiest African desk. M Care ships NAFDAC-registered finished dosage forms into Lagos and Abuja every week, supplying eight federal teaching hospitals, a private-sector network anchored on Lagoon, Reddington and St Nicholas, and the distributor tier that feeds Nigeria's Patent & Proprietary Medicines Vendor pharmacies. Orders originate with procurement desks across Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Kano and Abuja; the commercial, regulatory and dispatch work happens from our Mumbai office.
NAFDAC, PCN and the Nigerian approvals sequence.
The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is the gateway regulator. Every finished pharmaceutical imported into Nigeria needs a NAFDAC registration number on the pack before clearance, and the importer must hold a current NAFDAC import permit tied to the consignment. We prepare dossiers in the ACTD/CTD format NAFDAC accepts, including Module 1 country-specific administrative content, Module 2 quality overall summary, Module 3 stability under ICH Zone IVb conditions (30°C/75%RH for twelve months minimum), and CPP authenticated through the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and the Nigerian High Commission.
Nigerian pharmacy practice and wholesale activity is regulated by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), which licenses the importer, the wholesaler and the retail pharmacy. The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA, formerly NHIS) is driving formulary expansion in the public sector, and the National Tertiary Hospitals Commission now coordinates procurement standards across the federal teaching-hospital network. Every pack carrying a controlled or high-risk molecule must also carry a NAFDAC Mobile Authentication Service (MAS) scratch code that resolves via SMS to 38353 — we apply these at plant, before palletisation, and reconcile issued codes on every shipment.
Labelling requires English-language artwork with the NAFDAC number, the Nigerian importer's name and address, batch number, manufacturing date and expiry in the dd/mm/yyyy format. For narcotic and psychotropic substances, a separate NDLEA (National Drug Law Enforcement Agency) endorsement is needed alongside the NAFDAC permit; we coordinate both through the Nigerian importer's compliance desk.
Call & WhatsApp the Mumbai desk: +91 70156 05768 · info@mcareexports.com · Mon–Sat 09:30–18:30 IST
Six capabilities the Lagos and Abuja desks rely on.
NAFDAC dossier preparation
In-house regulatory team assembles ACTD Modules 1–5, stability under ICH Zone IVb, CPP authentication, bioequivalence summaries and variation filings. We have tracked 430+ Nigerian registrations for partner manufacturers.
MAS code and anti-counterfeit compliance
Scratch-panel MAS codes applied at plant for antimalarials, antibiotics, oxytocics and every pack on the NAFDAC high-risk list. Batch-level code registers delivered with shipping documents.
Federal and state tender response
Full technical bid packages for NPHCDA, FMoH, state health ministries and Drug Management Organisation tenders. We work through PCN-licensed Nigerian distributors who hold the wholesale franchise.
NGO and donor programme supply
Supply tranches for HIV, TB, malaria and maternal-child-health programmes funded through GFATM, USAID and UN agencies, with donor-specific documentation, serialisation and visibility reporting.
Teaching-hospital formulary support
Direct relationships with procurement committees at LUTH, UCH Ibadan, ABUTH Zaria, UNTH Enugu, UBTH Benin, JUTH Jos, UMTH Maiduguri and OAUTHC Ile-Ife.
Private retail and PPMV channel
Co-registered brands moving through Emzor, Fidson-linked wholesalers, Juhel, Getz, Pharma Deko and the PPMV network that reaches community pharmacies in rural LGAs.
From Nhava Sheva and BOM to Lagos, Abuja and the inland network.
Air consignments consolidate at Mumbai (BOM) and Delhi (DEL), with Emirates SkyCargo, Qatar Airways Cargo and Ethiopian Airlines the workhorse carriers into Murtala Muhammed International (LOS). Door-to-door air cycle from our Bhiwandi warehouse to a Lagos 3PL runs four to six calendar days; Nnamdi Azikiwe International (ABV) adds 24 hours on trans-shipment through Addis or Doha. Sea freight routes via Nhava Sheva or Mundra to Tin Can Island and Apapa on a 28 to 35-day transit, with Onne reserved for oversize or bonded-warehouse consignments in Rivers state.
Cold-chain is the binding constraint. For insulin, oxytocin, paediatric vaccines, biosimilars and oncology injectables, we pack in qualified passive shippers — Envirotainer RAP e2 active containers on larger tranches, Cool-Plus CRT and Sonoco ThermoSafe Certis for 72 to 120-hour excursion windows. Every cold-chain pallet carries two independent temperature loggers (Berlinger Q-tag CLm doc and ELPRO LIBERO) plus a Bluetooth near-field logger for the 3PL handoff. Our Lagos partner warehouse holds 2–8°C and -20°C buffer for onward splits to Ibadan (road, eight hours), Enugu (road, twelve hours), Kano (air or road, depending on urgency) and Port Harcourt (road, ten hours).
Payment architecture adapts to the buyer profile. For first engagements, an irrevocable LC at sight confirmed by an acceptable London or Dubai bank is the default. Returning importers move to 30 to 60-day usance, and for state-health-ministry and NGO tranches we structure credit-insurance cover through Afreximbank's Country Risk programme or the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI). Bonded-stock options are available through Nahco and SAHCO pharmaceutical facilities at LOS for importers who need in-country buffer without full customs release.
The therapeutic portfolio that matches Nigeria's disease burden.
Nigeria carries roughly a quarter of the global malaria burden and one of the heaviest HIV caseloads in West Africa, alongside rising non-communicable disease pressure. Our largest Nigerian volumes sit in antimalarials (artemether-lumefantrine, artesunate-amodiaquine, injectable artesunate for severe malaria), first- and second-line antiretrovirals, anti-TB fixed-dose combinations on the NTBLCP formulary, and the full WHO essential-medicines spine for maternal and child health — oxytocin, magnesium sulphate, misoprostol, paediatric amoxicillin dispersible tablets, zinc-ORS sachets.
Oncology volumes are growing through the National Cancer Control Programme and the six federal oncology centres at LUTH, UCH, UNTH, ABUTH, UBTH and NSIA-LUTH. We supply cytotoxics, supportive care, and a widening range of targeted therapies and biosimilars. NCD lines — metformin, gliclazide, amlodipine, losartan, atorvastatin — now account for a significant share of private-retail volume as the NHIA formulary broadens. Anaesthesia, critical-care infusions, antibiotics and surgical consumables complete the hospital spine.
A federal oncology centre in Lagos awarded M Care a three-cycle supply contract for cytotoxic injectables in 2024 after the incumbent Indian supplier missed two cold-chain windows. We transferred the NAFDAC registrations to the hospital's preferred distributor inside eleven weeks, shipped the opening tranche of 38 SKUs via LOS with zero temperature excursions, and closed the first year at 98.6% on-time-in-full across 214 line items. The centre's procurement committee has since added two M Care partner manufacturers to its approved-vendor list for the 2025–2027 programme.
Working with an Indian supplier from Nigeria.
Most Nigerian procurement desks that call us have done business with Indian manufacturers before, often directly, and have usually been burned by one of three failure modes: a dossier that stalled for eighteen months because the CPP was authenticated incorrectly, a cold-chain shipment that broke on the Lagos tarmac because the 3PL did not have a qualified reefer, or a small manufacturer that quoted aggressively and then disappeared when the LC was opened. M Care sits between the Nigerian buyer and a panel of WHO-GMP manufacturers precisely to absorb those failure modes.
The practical sequence, once you engage the Mumbai desk, looks like this. Week one, we take the molecule list, volumes, destination facility and commercial terms, and come back with a manufacturer short-list, NAFDAC registration status for each SKU and a landed price in Naira equivalent. Weeks two to four, we run the sample submission to NAFDAC Oshodi labs for any product not yet registered, or we transfer existing registrations to your distributor if they are registered with a different Nigerian partner. Weeks five onward, we open the LC, dispatch the opening tranche, and book the regulatory variation for any pack-size or artwork-specific requirements your tender or retail channel needs.
You should expect one named account manager in Mumbai, a technical regulatory contact, and a logistics contact handling the Lagos 3PL interface. You should not expect a local phone number — M Care operates from Mumbai with a London and Dubai commercial presence, and we deliberately run every Nigerian enquiry through the same WhatsApp channel rather than a disconnected country office. Turnaround on a standard quote is one working day; turnaround on a regulatory feasibility note, including NAFDAC registrability, pack-size and artwork feasibility, is three to five working days.
Nigerian buyer questions, answered straight.
How long does NAFDAC registration take for an imported finished pharmaceutical product?
A complete Category-A dossier (ACTD/CTD format) with a clean GMP certificate and full stability data typically moves through NAFDAC in nine to fifteen months. Category-B molecules and those requiring full lab re-analysis run longer. We front-load the CPP, WHO-GMP, BMR, stability (ICH Zone IVb, 30°C/75%RH) and bioequivalence documentation so the first deficiency letter, if any, is answered within two weeks.
Do M Care packs carry NAFDAC MAS (Mobile Authentication Service) scratch codes?
Yes. All narcotic, antimalarial and antibiotic packs destined for Nigeria ship with a scratch-panel MAS code applied at our partner plants before the container is sealed. The code maps to NAFDAC's 38353 SMS verification system, which pharmacists and patients query to confirm a pack is genuine. We reconcile issued codes batch by batch so the importer's reconciliation with NAFDAC stays clean.
Which Nigerian port should we route pharmaceutical cargo through?
For air cargo, Murtala Muhammed International (LOS) remains the primary hub; we also route into Nnamdi Azikiwe International (ABV) for Abuja-based consignees and occasionally Port Harcourt (PHC) for the Rivers and Bayelsa corridor. Sea consignments move through Tin Can Island or Apapa, with Onne used for oversize pharmaceutical-grade cargo. Cold-chain biologicals always route air into LOS.
Can M Care bid directly into NPHCDA or state ministry of health tenders?
No foreign manufacturer can bid directly. We bid through a NAFDAC-listed Nigerian distributor that holds the PCN wholesale licence. We produce the entire technical bid package, dossier extracts, registration certificates, CoA samples, price build-up and pro-forma, and the distributor files the bid. We ship against the awarded contract either on LC or, for state programmes, on secured open account.
What payment terms do you work with for Nigerian importers?
First three consignments always move on an irrevocable LC at sight or 30 days, confirmed by an acceptable London- or Dubai-based bank. Once a payment track record is established, we convert to CAD or 60-day open account with credit-insurance backing through Afreximbank or ATI. NGO and donor-funded tranches settle against donor milestone releases, which we structure separately.
How do you keep biologicals in cold-chain across Nigerian last-mile?
The last mile is the hard part. We pack insulin, oxytocin and paediatric vaccines in validated Envirotainer RAP e2 or Cool-Plus CRT passive shippers qualified for 72 to 120 hours at 2–8°C. Every shipment carries a dual temperature logger (Berlinger Q-tag and ELPRO) so the consignee has an auditable chart on arrival. Our Lagos 3PL holds cold-room buffer for onward splits to Ibadan, Enugu and Kano.
Does M Care supply the private retail chains or only institutional buyers?
Both. We sell institutional volumes into LUTH, UCH Ibadan, ABUTH Zaria and other teaching hospitals via their NAFDAC-listed distributors, and we also move private retail SKUs through the PPMV and community-pharmacy channel using partners such as Emzor, Fidson-linked wholesalers and Pharma Deko for brands we have co-registered in Nigeria.
Why buyers choose M Care for the India → Nigeria corridor.
NAFDAC fluency
Dossiers built to the exact format NAFDAC reviews, not a generic CTD dump. We know which modules get scrutinised first, which stability data triggers queries, and which legalisation and apostille chain the submission needs to clear on the first pass.
Logistics you can schedule around
BOM → LOS direct air for time-critical orders, and Apapa / Tin Can Island for high-volume ambient sea freight. Cold-chain SKUs run on validated containers with continuous temperature logging. Consolidation at origin so you order by molecule, not by MOQ.
Commercial discipline, one point of contact
USD invoicing with clear FX-clause language, LC / TT / open-account progression as the relationship proves out, 18 therapeutic areas on one PO, and one named account manager from enquiry through clearance in Nigeria.
Top categories we ship to Nigeria
Anti-infectives
Penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems, antivirals, antimalarials — 1,800+ hospital and retail lines.
Cardiovascular
Antihypertensives, statins, anticoagulants, antiarrhythmics and heart-failure lines.
Oncology
Cytotoxics, targeted therapy and supportive care — bortezomib, docetaxel, paclitaxel, gemcitabine.
Diabetes & endocrine
Insulins, oral antidiabetics, thyroid and hormonal therapy — 470+ lines across the spectrum.
CNS & neurology
Antiepileptics, antipsychotics, antidepressants, anxiolytics and neuroprotective lines.
General & OTC
Analgesics, vitamins, wound-care, nutritionals — 1,283 SKUs, our broadest catalogue.
Molecule, volume, destination hospital. One working day to a quote.
Your enquiry lands with the Mumbai account manager responsible for Nigeria. No call-centre hops, no generic autoresponders, no switchboard in a time zone that does not match yours. WhatsApp is the fastest route.
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