Paracetamol Manufacturers in Nigeria: The NAFDAC-Registered Brands and Who Makes Them

The short answer

Almost all paracetamol sold in Nigeria is made in Nigeria. One imported originator brand, Panadol, sits at the top of the price range; below it a dozen NAFDAC-registered Nigerian manufacturers supply the pharmacies, hospitals, patent medicine shops and open drug markets that move the real volume. The brands you will see on most shelves are:

• Panadol — Haleon (formerly GSK). Imported. The benchmark brand.
• Emzor Paracetamol — Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries, Lagos. The most widely stocked local brand.
• M&B Paracetamol — May & Baker Nigeria, Ota. One of the oldest pharma companies in the country.
• Drugfield Paracetamol — Drugfield Pharmaceuticals, Sango Ota.
• Juhel Paracetamol — Juhel Nigeria, Enugu and Awka.
• Nemel Paracetamol — Nemel Pharmaceuticals, Onitsha.
• Dizpharm Paracetamol — Dizpharm Nigeria Limited, Ibusa, Delta State (NAFDAC Reg. 04-2531).

Swipha, Fidson, Neimeth and Bond Chemical are among other established NAFDAC-registered manufacturers whose ranges include paracetamol. Registrations change, so the Greenbook search for "paracetamol" is the authoritative current list.

Originator versus Nigerian-made generics

Paracetamol has been off patent for decades, so every brand on the list contains the same active ingredient at the same strength, made to the same pharmacopoeial standard (Paracetamol BP). What differs is the price, the presentation and the reliability of supply.

Panadol is the imported originator and carries the highest retail price. The Nigerian-made brands are generics: same molecule, NAFDAC-registered, manufactured under GMP, and typically a fraction of the price per tablet. For a pharmacy, both usually sit side by side: the originator for the customer who asks for it by name, a local brand for everyone else.

Where the manufacturers are, and why it matters for buyers

Manufacturing clusters in three places, and the cluster nearest you affects freight, lead time and how easily you can visit the plant:

• Lagos and Ogun State — Emzor (Isolo), Swipha (Isolo), Neimeth (Oregun), May & Baker and Fidson and Drugfield (all around Sango Ota). The largest cluster, closest to the Lagos ports where active ingredient arrives.
• South-East — Juhel (Enugu, with a plant at Awka) and Nemel (Onitsha). Closest to the Ogbo-Ogwu drug market in Onitsha, the largest pharmaceutical wholesale market in West Africa.
• Delta State — Dizpharm at Ibusa on the Ibusa–Asaba Expressway, about 25 km from Onitsha across the Niger bridge. Deliveries to the South-East and South-South are same-week; the plant is open to distributor visits.

Northern buyers are served from Lagos and from the South-East through the Kano and Kaduna wholesale channels; see distribution in Northern Nigeria.

Formats you will be offered

• 500mg tablets, blister packed — 1×10 monopacks for the counter, 8×12 or 10×10 boxes for the pharmacy shelf.
• 500mg tablets, bulk — 1,000-tablet cups or tins for hospitals, clinics and dispensing pharmacies.
• Caplets — the same 500mg dose in a coated, easier-to-swallow shape; some brands colour them (Dizpharm's are pink).
• Paediatric — 120mg/5ml syrup or suspension, and 250mg/5ml for older children.

Wholesale carton configurations differ by manufacturer; our paracetamol price guide shows what a carton contains and what it costs this month.

What wholesale buyers actually compare

Once NAFDAC registration is confirmed, distributors and pharmacies compare four things, and the brand name is rarely one of them:

• Price per 1,000 tablets, ex-warehouse, after any volume tier. This is the only like-for-like number across blister and bulk formats.
• Presentation — blister quality, print, tamper evidence and whether the pack looks like something a customer will trust.
• Minimum order and terms — carton MOQ, mixed-SKU orders, prepayment versus credit. How trade margins work.
• Lead time and reliability — whether the manufacturer holds stock through malaria season and naira swings.

Those are indicative Dizpharm trade figures for the current month; exact carton prices are quoted on WhatsApp because they move with volume and region.

Where Dizpharm fits

Dizpharm has made paracetamol at Ibusa since 1986 under NAFDAC and GMP. The product is registered as NAFDAC 04-2531, supplied as 500mg tablets in 8×12 blisters and 1,000-tablet cups, plus a pink 500mg caplet, with a one-carton minimum order direct from the factory and delivery to all 36 states.

How to verify any brand before you stock it

Whatever brand you settle on, the check is the same and takes two minutes:

1. Find the NAFDAC registration number on the immediate pack (blister, cup or bottle label), not only on the carton.
2. Search it on the NAFDAC Greenbook. The entry should show the same product name, strength, pack size and the same registrant or manufacturer as the pack.
3. Check the expiry date and batch number are printed, not stickered, and that the carton and inner packs agree.
4. For wholesale, buy from the manufacturer or an authorised distributor, and get the invoice in the registered company's name.

Step-by-step, with screenshots: how to verify a NAFDAC registration number. Every Dizpharm product page also carries a "Verify this product" section linking its own Greenbook entry.

Frequently asked questions