allAfrica.com: Ghana: Are Your Drugs Safe? (Page 1 of 1)

Counterfeiting has increasingly become a national issue, as evidenced by the recently-held world Intellectual Property (IP) day and the stepped up enforcement efforts by local law enforcement and regulatory agencies. The advent of readily-available, commercial IP-circumventing technology has led to unrivalled increase in global counterfeit trade, with estimates pegging the menace at US$ 200 billion annually with a seemingly uncapped growth rate.

While a decent sum of counterfeit and illicit trade covers non-life threatening items like Digital Video Disks (DVDs), a growing concern of certain faked products puts everyone at risk: medication.

Fake drugs kill. Well-syndicated records indicate that in 1995, 89 Haitian children perished after consuming cough syrup then unknowingly laced with lethal anti-freeze. That same year, a large scale immunization in Nigeria against meningitis left 2500 dead, with counterfeit vaccines to blame. The scourge is indeed global, but the message hits hardest when it's personal - Ghana has not been spared from the global influx of fake medication. The Ghanaian drug regulators, the Food and Drugs Board, have meticulously engaged manufacturers and importers in its drug registration scheme in a bid to safeguard consumers from illicit and unregistered products that could pose a risk to the Ghanaian public. This has certainly increased consumer awareness regarding drug purchases, and has got several consumers critically examining product packaging prior to drug purchases.

In addition to participating in stepped-up regulatory measures like the FDB drug registration scheme, it is imperative that drug manufacturers and importers make significant efforts in securing brand identity. Currently, large-capacity manufacturers, particularly of the global kind, employ various technology-based solutions as a means of reassuring consumers of a genuine purchase. Several manufacturers like Pfizer and Novartis have field-tested Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tracking and authentication technologies in well-endowed nations in an attempt to safeguard their brand names against fake products.

Manufacturers using RFID technology embed minuscule electronic chips with antennae in their product packaging, allowing wholesalers, suppliers and even some consumers to check the genuineness of products using specialized equipment. While the US Food and Drugs Administration grapples with the seemingly innumerable challenges related to large-scale RFID deployment, manufactures seeking end-user product assurance technologies often resort to the use of holograms. Hologram-enabled medical products are available on the Ghanaian market in the form of holographic secondary packaging and hologram stickers, and such products can easily be distinguished from their non-protected counterparts by the multi-colour luminous brilliance emitted from holograms.

One common drug on the Ghanaian market often protected by holograms is branded Artesunate. Until recently, the potent anti-malarial played a solo role in saving millions of lives across the country. With the government spending over US$700 M on the cure of malaria in Ghana it is relieving to note that the popular anti-malarial often bears holographic security features. However, counterfeiters prey on drugs that are popular, and Artesunate formulations have failed to evade their radar. An international study in South-East Asia produced shocking revelations regarding the prevalence of fake Artesunate. Over 1 in 3 of the drugs sampled were fake! Even more disturbing was the ever-present holographic security feature on the fake drugs. The security-enabled hologram from the genuine manufacturer had an advanced covert Ultra-Violet (UV) signature that the counterfeiters managed to reproduce convincingly. The failure of holograms to unequivocally assure consumers of drug quality in this instance represents a breakdown in a technology once thought infallible, and presents disturbing news for consumers worldwide.

Scientists have shown a link between fake anti-malarials and the increased resistance of the malaria parasite Plasmodium. Such induced resistances shorten the lifespan of drugs that cost several hundred million dollars to research and manufacture, and put the lives of numerous impoverished citizens at risk due to rising drug costs and drug impotence despite bioavailability. This translates to a strain on the healthcare system - over 65% of the cases seen by doctors in Ghana are malaria-related. If we can control the disease via early treatment and prudent self-medication with genuine drugs, the use of treated mosquito nets and tidy environmental upkeep, we stand to effectively double the amount of time doctors have available to cure other diseases in Ghana.

What then can the Ghanaian consumer do to ensure that s/he is purchasing genuine medication? The current situation may stray slightly from the ideal, but in the meantime here are four key points to note:

* Purchase drugs from reputable sources such as high-volume pharmacies and licensed chemical sellers. These drug outlets often have the capacity to obtain feedback on particular drugs that may not be effective for several of their clients (for a myriad of reasons, including lack of genuineness), and then possibly pass on the aggregated intelligence to regulatory and law enforcement agencies.

* Carefully examine the product packaging the next time you purchase or consume a drug. If it is an effective drug you routinely buy, keep a copy of the packaging with you for comparison at your next purchase. Placing a lot of emphasis on the drug's production country can be misleading since such information can be counterfeited on the packaging. Look out for the FDB registration number, the Ghana Standards Board logo and check the expiry date.

* On holographically protected medication, every hologram is purported to have a list of security features to look out for in addition to its colourful radiance. When in doubt, consult your trusted doctor or pharmacist.

* Proactively report any suspicious drug sale setup or product to the law enforcement and regulatory agencies. These organizations exist to protect Ghanaian residents and visitors from the fake product menace, and welcome valuable intelligence from concerned citizenry. When possible, keep samples of suspicious products purchased to aid in investigations and lab testing. You can reach the Food and Drugs Board country-wide on 021-233200, 021-235100 and 021-225502.

With the advent of a new wave of technologies specifically designed for developing nations like Ghana, we anticipate an increased dynamic partnership between government, industry and consumers in securing the future health of citizenry - a critical action needed to sustain our healthy national growth and development while keeping us on track in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Ashifi Gogo, the author, is engaged in the global drug pedigree assurance stakeholder platform, mPedigree.

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