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Counterfeit drugs a serious problem - Mwape

Counterfeit drugs a serious problem - Mwape
By Fridah Nkonde
Tue 28 Aug. 2012, 10:28 CAT

PHARMACEUTICAL Regulatory Authority Director General Esnart Mwape has said counterfeit products have become a very serious matter in Zambia. And Mwape says the authority's biggest challenge is people operating illegal drug stores in the country.

During a donation of four mobile compact labs to detect counterfeit medicines to Zambia by Merck, Mwape said the minilabs would help the authority minimise some of the challenges that it was facing in detecting counterfeit medicines.

She said currently, seven minilabs were already being used in the country and that each additional minilab made a valuable contribution to quality control of medicines.

"Consumers need to be a bit proactive when dealing with medicines. Whenever consumers notice anything wrong with the medicine, there is need for them to report to their health care providers. The minilab is just one strategy that we will use to help detect counterfeit medicines because it is quiet a big challenge for PRA to prevent people from dealing in counterfeit products," Mwape said.

She said one could not see the difference between a counterfeit product and a genuine one because there was no big difference.

"You can't tell by just looking because the packaging is the same. It is impossible for consumers to tell whether it is a genuine product or not. As regulators, we try by all means to screen all products that come on the market," she said.

Meanwhile, Merck South Africa managing director Klaus Boehm said counterfeit products were a serious threat to healthcare in many countries.

Boehm said the mobile compact laboratories were globally unique for their ability to detect counterfeits quickly, cost-effectively and reliably.

He said with minilabs, it was possible to relieve bottlenecks in quality control for medicines, especially in rural areas.

"The international police organisation estimates that up to 30 per cent of all medicines in Africa are either counterfeit or of inferior quality. The minilabs offers quick, simple and low-cost test methods to check medicines for external abnormalities, identity, and content," he said.

One minilab is worth about K24,400,600.

Labels: MEDICINE

posted by MrK @ 2:29 PM