# Lanreotide in Nigeria

Lanreotide has no NAFDAC registration in our October 2026 copy of the register.

- Source: https://ogbogwu.com/drugs/lanreotide/
- Drug class: Long-acting somatostatin analogue (Hormone Disorders)
- Also known as: Somatuline, Somatuline Autogel, Lanreotide acetate
- Prescription required: yes
- Last updated: August 2026

## Price in Nigeria

Lanreotide prices in Nigeria vary by brand, strength, and where you buy it. Confirm the current price with a licensed pharmacy, and always check the product is NAFDAC-registered before you pay.

## What is Lanreotide?

Lanreotide is a long-acting synthetic version of somatostatin, the body's own 'off switch' for several hormones. Given as a deep injection under the skin every four weeks, it suppresses growth hormone and a range of gut hormones. Its two main uses are acromegaly — the condition caused by a pituitary tumour producing too much growth hormone, which slowly enlarges the hands, feet and facial features — and neuroendocrine tumours, where it both controls the flushing and diarrhoea those tumours cause and slows their growth.

LANREOTIDE IS NOT REGISTERED WITH NAFDAC. Our copy of the NAFDAC Greenbook holds no record of it under any brand or ingredient name. Nor does it hold octreotide, the other somatostatin analogue used for the same conditions. The entire class is absent from the Nigerian register.

This is a small page for a small number of people, and that is precisely why it is here. Acromegaly and neuroendocrine tumours are rare, the treatment is expensive and specialised, and someone in Nigeria who has just been given one of these diagnoses will search for the drug their doctor named and find nothing that tells them where they stand. The honest position is worth stating: the medicine is not available through any registered Nigerian channel, and treatment will involve either a hospital import route or care abroad.

## What is Lanreotide used for?

- Nothing approved in Nigeria — lanreotide holds no NAFDAC registration
- Acromegaly, where surgery has not cured it or is not possible, abroad
- Advanced neuroendocrine tumours of the midgut and pancreas — controlling growth, abroad
- Carcinoid syndrome — the flushing and severe diarrhoea caused by hormone-secreting tumours, abroad
- Thyrotropin-secreting pituitary tumours, abroad

## Dosage

Always follow a doctor's or pharmacist's instructions; this is general reference information.

- Adults: No dose is given here for a medicine with no legal supply in Nigeria. Where licensed, Somatuline Autogel is given as a deep subcutaneous injection every 28 days, at 60mg, 90mg or 120mg, adjusted against hormone levels and symptoms. It is administered by a trained health professional, or by a trained patient or carer where a specialist service supports that.
- Children: Lanreotide is not established for use in children.
- Elderly: Not applicable in Nigeria. No routine dose change for age where used abroad.

Acromegaly is usually treated first by surgery to remove the pituitary tumour, which can be curative, and neurosurgical services for this exist in Nigeria. Medical treatment with a somatostatin analogue is what follows when surgery is incomplete or unsuitable. If you have been diagnosed, the question to ask your endocrinologist is not only how to obtain lanreotide but what the surgical and radiotherapy options are — because those routes are available here in a way the monthly injection is not.

## Side effects

Common: Diarrhoea, abdominal pain and nausea, particularly in the first months; Pain, a lump or redness at the injection site; Gallstones — common with long-term use, often without symptoms; Raised blood sugar, or occasionally low blood sugar.

Serious (seek medical help immediately): Acute gallbladder inflammation or bile-duct obstruction from gallstones; Marked slowing of the heart rate; Significant disturbance of blood sugar control in people with diabetes; Pancreatitis — uncommon; Hypersensitivity reactions.

When to see a doctor: Not applicable to a medicine unavailable here. Anyone receiving lanreotide abroad should seek urgent care for severe upper abdominal pain with fever or jaundice, which suggests gallbladder or bile-duct trouble, and should have blood sugar monitored, particularly if diabetic.

## Warnings

Do not take if: No lawful supply in Nigeria — lanreotide holds no NAFDAC registration; Known hypersensitivity to lanreotide, octreotide or related somatostatin analogues; Use with caution in gallstone disease and in poorly controlled diabetes.

Interactions: Insulin and oral diabetes medicines — doses often need adjusting, in either direction; Ciclosporin — levels fall; Bromocriptine — levels rise; Medicines that slow the heart, such as beta-blockers — additive bradycardia.

Pregnancy & breastfeeding: There is limited data on lanreotide in pregnancy and it is used only where clearly necessary, under specialist care. Whether to continue treatment during a pregnancy in acromegaly or a neuroendocrine tumour is a decision for an endocrinologist and an obstetrician together.

## Brands in Nigeria

Well-known NAFDAC-registered brands: Somatuline Autogel (Ipsen, made in France).
Full searchable brand list: https://ogbogwu.com/drugs/lanreotide/brands/

## How to verify it is genuine

1. There is nothing to verify. Lanreotide holds no NAFDAC registration, so no genuine Nigerian registration number exists for Somatuline or any lanreotide product.
2. A pack printed with a NAFDAC number is showing a number that was invented or cloned — check it against our NAFDAC checker.
3. Lanreotide is supplied in a pre-filled syringe that must be refrigerated throughout. Any supply offered outside a hospital cold chain should be refused; heat damage leaves no visible sign and the medicine simply will not work.
4. If your care is being coordinated by a Nigerian specialist, ask about the hospital or named-patient import route rather than sourcing it privately — that route exists for exactly this situation and keeps the cold chain and the paperwork intact.
5. Be sceptical of any private offer to supply a monthly biological injection. This is an expensive, rare medicine and an easy one to counterfeit convincingly.

Verify any NAFDAC number free (no login): https://ogbogwu.com/nafdac-checker/

## FAQs

### Is lanreotide available in Nigeria?

No. Lanreotide, sold as Somatuline Autogel, holds no NAFDAC registration, and neither does octreotide — the whole somatostatin analogue class is absent from our copy of the Greenbook. There is no registered retail supply. Treatment for someone in Nigeria who needs it involves either a hospital or named-patient import route arranged through a specialist, or care abroad.

### What is acromegaly and how is it treated in Nigeria?

Acromegaly is caused by a benign pituitary tumour producing too much growth hormone, which slowly enlarges the hands, feet and facial features and raises the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. The first treatment worldwide is surgery to remove the tumour, which can be curative, and pituitary surgery is performed in Nigeria at several teaching hospitals. Radiotherapy is a second option. Medical treatment with a somatostatin analogue such as lanreotide is what follows when surgery does not fully work — and it is that step which is hard to access here.

### Can I get lanreotide through a hospital?

That is the route worth asking about. Named-patient or hospital import arrangements exist for unregistered medicines needed by individual patients, and a teaching-hospital endocrinology or oncology service is best placed to say whether it can be arranged in your case. It is slower and more bureaucratic than buying privately, but it keeps the cold chain intact and means somebody has verified what is in the syringe — which for a monthly biological injection matters a great deal.

### Is octreotide available instead?

No. Octreotide is the other main somatostatin analogue and it is also absent from our copy of the NAFDAC register, in both its short-acting and long-acting forms. That means there is no registered alternative within the class in Nigeria, which is why this page recommends discussing surgical and radiotherapy options and formal import routes with a specialist rather than looking for a substitute.

### Why write about a drug almost nobody in Nigeria can get?

Because the few people searching for it need the answer most. A rare diagnosis is frightening and disorienting, and finding nothing at all about whether the named treatment exists in your country is worse than finding a page that says plainly it does not, explains why, and points at the routes that do exist. Rarity is a reason to write carefully, not a reason to stay silent.

## Sources

- NAFDAC Greenbook (official register of approved products in Nigeria)
- British National Formulary (BNF)
- Nigerian Standard Treatment Guidelines (Federal Ministry of Health)