Food, Medical Products and Other Regulated Products Bill, 2026

For decades, Nigeria’s regulatory framework for food and medical products has relied on the aging Food, Drug and Related Products Act and the Food and Drugs Act. These outdated laws have struggled to keep pace with rapid advancements in healthcare, digital commerce, and complex global supply chains. On July 21, 2026, the Nigerian Senate took a decisive step to close these regulatory gaps by passing the Food, Medical Products and Other Regulated Products Bill, 2026 for its second reading.

Core Legislative Reforms ● Expanded Regulatory Oversight: The bill establishes comprehensive statutory authority over a wide array of products, extending beyond basic food and drugs to include processed animal feeds, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), vaccines, in-vitro diagnostics, and advanced medical devices. ● Emerging Technologies & Commerce: Recognizing the shift in how healthcare is delivered, the legislation explicitly regulates AI-assisted diagnostics, biotechnology, biosimilars, and the rapidly growing sector of online pharmaceutical commerce. ● Enhanced Safety and Traceability: The framework introduces mandatory pre-registration product evaluations, continuous safety monitoring throughout a product's life cycle, and end-to-end supply chain traceability, backed by emergency product recall powers when public safety is threatened. ● Clinical Trial Formalization: For the first time in Nigeria's statutory history, the bill provides explicit legal provisions governing clinical trials, performance evaluations, and human intervention studies. Economic and Clinical Outlook Beyond safeguarding public health, the bill institutionalizes internationally recognized quality assurance standards such as Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Good Clinical Practice (GCP). By aligning Nigeria's regulatory framework with globally accepted standards, the legislation aims to strengthen the country's competitiveness, facilitate international regulatory cooperation, and support the confident export of locally manufactured regulated products into regional and global markets.