21 July 2009
editorial
Abuja — The Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) recently alerted the nation to the increasing rate of fake pharmaceutical products in circulation, and attributed the trend to the failure of manufacturers to conform to standards.
The Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Council, Pharmacist Ahmed Mora, who spoke at a workshop for South-west pharmacists in Lagos recently said reports collated by PCN inspectors who conducted routine inspections of drug companies nationwide indicated that standard of drugs and other pharmaceutical products being manufactured have drastically dropped. "Requirements expected of a company involved in the manufacture of pharmaceutical products are lacking in most companies," he said. Indeed, the problem of fake drug productions has become a disease that has refused to heal over the years, with the number of illegal drug manufacturing firms sky rocketing.
Going back memory lane, the problem with the Nigerian drug manufacturing system could be traced to the 1980s when dependence on foreign finished goods took the centre stage due to dwindling economy, resulting in production decline by local firms. This also resulted in the scarcity of pharmaceutical products, a development which paved the way for the introduction of the infamous import licence for goods including drugs; and with it the course of the history and development of the pharmaceutical industry was altered. There is also the politicisation of import licence issuance which made it possible for every Dick and Harry to venture into the business of drug importation, while genuine manufacturers and pharmacists were left at the background. Since then, the drug importation and distribution system in the country became chaotic and markets were regularly flooded with all sorts of adulterated, counterfeit and substandard products.
The proliferation of fake drugs is certainly a reflection of the breakdown of the regulatory authorities. Though the establishment of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) over the last couple of years has to some extent brought sanity into the system, the phenomenon continued unabated due to the corrupt nature of the society.
It would be recalled that in October last year; NAFDAC blacklisted 22 companies, which include 15 from India and seven local organisations for alleged manufacturing of fake and substandard drugs and other pharmaceutical products. Similarly, in May last year, NAFDAC impounded a container of counterfeit drugs that included fake versions of Septrin, Glucophage, Augmentin, Ampiclox , oxytocin injections, Aldomet and Encephabol. Records also show that between 2001 and 2002, the agency carried out 13,897 raids on factories manufacturing fake drugs in the country. Notwithstanding these records of NAFDAC, there is little success in the conviction of culprits involved in these obnoxious acts. Though the agency said it had in the last eight years carried out 120 destruction exercises of counterfeit and substandard products valued at N22bn, in addition to 45 convictions of fake drug offenders, there is much to be done if we really desire to fight the fake drug scourge.
It is against this that we call on all stake holders, particularly the Nigerian Customs service, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria and the Immigration Service to work together in order to combat the trend. NAFDAC which has the overriding responsibility in this crusade must be up and doing in the training and equipping of its officers. With modern technology, staffs need to be acquainted with the use of cutting -edge technologies to test and detect the quality and efficacy of drugs, especially those coming through the land borders. Customs and NAFDAC officers at the nation's ports must be vigilant, and devoid of corrupt attitude in identifying and apprehending those importing counterfeit drugs, while at the home front, regular inspection of drug manufacturing firms must be a daily routine in order to fish out culprits. This is the only way lives could be saved from these poisonous products. But all this cannot be done if those at the helms of affairs lack the political will to carry out the crusade.
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