NAFDAC blacklists 22 Indian pharmaceutical firms

According to the World Health Organization, counterfeit and sub-standard medicines represent an enormous public health challenge.  These products can range from random mixtures of harmful toxic substances to inactive, useless preparations.  Counterfeiting is greatest in those regions where the regulatory and legal oversight is weakest.  Many countries in Africa and parts of Asia and Latin America have areas where more that 30% of the medicines on sale can be counterfeit.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Nigeria has recently taken action to help ensure that the public has access to safe medicines.

NAFDAC blacklists 22 Indian pharmaceutical firms   
Vanguard (Nigeria)
Written by Chinyere Amalu    
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
 
THE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has blacklisted and banned 22 Indian pharmaceutical companies from exportation, importation and distribution of drugs in Nigeria.

The agency has also banned 40 drugs that are in circulation in Nigeria from being used, saying the names on the labels are fake and the agency cannot guarantee their safety and efficacy.

Announcing this yesterday in Abuja when the UNICEF Country Representative Suomi Sakai visited her, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Dora Akunyili, said in 2003, the agency banned some Chinese pharmaceutical companies.

Some of the affected Indian companies are Medicare Pharma Ltd, O’Nell Pharma and Healthcare Ltd, Food and Pharma Ltd, Sep Pharmacy Ltd, Nexus Pharma Ltd, M/S Sanchuks Global Associates Ltd, M/S Tmoore Int’l Co. Nig. Ltd, Empree Medicament (1) Pvt among others.

Among the 40 Drugs that have also been banned from being used in the country are; MD-Artesunate Tablets, Artecare tablets, Careluther injection, Amoxmentin tablets, Erican-MG Cream, Vagitab, MD-Artesunate Syrup etc.

According to Akunyili who commended UNICEF for making breast-feeding initiative successful in Nigeria, the blacklisted companies and banned drugs takes immediate effect.

“NAFDAC hereby informs the general public that the underlisted Indian pharmaceutical companies have been blacklisted from the exportation, importation and distribution of drugs in Nigeria.

“We have also discovered that the 40 drugs that have been banned from being used in the country are fake. We noticed that the NAFDAC numbers on the labels are fake. What they do is to copy other companyies’ numbers.

“The agency is therefore warning the public not to buy or consume any of these drugs, irrespective of the manufacturer’s name on the label because NAFDAC cannot guarantee their safety and efficacy”, she stated.

Professor Akunyili, however, noted that the success Nigeria has recorded in its breast-feeding initiatives was as a result of UNICEF Baby friendly initiative.

“Today as the result of the initiative, anti-baby dirrhoea drugs have disappeared from pharmaceutical stores in Nigeria”, she added.

Earlier in her remarks, the Country Representative of UNICE, Suomi Sakai said her visit is to seek way of improving the existing partnership with UNICEF and NAFDAC.

According to her, we want to ensure that every Nigerian child gets products that are essential for their growth and development.

Pan-American stakeholders speak out on innovation and public health

As the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) meets this week in Washington D.C., so too did a group of key healthcare stakeholders from across the Americas.  As part of their meeting this week, PAHO delegates will be reviewing the World Health Organization’s draft strategy on improving access to medicines and healthcare in developing countries.  While patients, providers, economists and academics alike agree that this is an important goal, they also advised PAHO delegates to ensure the health of future generations by protecting a strong environment for medical innovation.

The following is a press release co-distributed by the Creative and Innovative Economy Center at the George Washington University Law School and the National Hispanic Medical Association:

PAHO delegates advised to protect the health of future generations by fostering a strong environment for medical innovation throughout the Americas

Washington, D.C. (September 30, 2008) – Today, key healthcare stakeholders from across the Americas came together to send a unified message to members of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) – protect the health of future generations by fostering a strong environment for medical innovation.  This statement coincides with the gathering of PAHO delegates in Washington D.C. for their annual assembly where they will discuss, amongst other topics, the World Health Organization’s draft strategy on public health, innovation and intellectual property.

“The WHO’s proposed strategy was intended to address the need for new treatments and to improve access to medicines in developing countries.  While we certainly support this objective, we are among many patient groups who fear that components of the proposed plan will have serious negative consequences for patients in developed and developing countries,” said James Sykes, Director of Global Programs, Policy and Advocacy for The AIDS Institute.

“Medicines that patients are using today, whether they are patented medicines or generic copies, are available because of policies and laws that encourage innovation,” said the Honorable Ralph Oman, Fellow of the Creative and Innovative Economy Center at George Washington University Law School and former U.S. Register of Copyrights.  “Strong patent rules and other appropriate incentives that encourage pharmaceutical research, development and innovation offer the best hope to patients with life threatening diseases.”

“As medical practitioners, we see firsthand the benefits conferred by innovative pharmaceutical therapies,” said Elena Rios, President and CEO of the National Hispanic Medical Association.  “We recommend that PAHO support measures that maintain intellectual property rights and encourage innovation while improving access to medicines.”

“The focus of PAHO’s efforts to improve access to medicines and healthcare, which is of particular importance to patients in Latin America, should be less on intellectual property, and more on creating long-term solutions,” said Elena Alvarado, President and CEO of the National Latina Health Network.  “This will require a multi-faceted approach that tackles poverty, lack of infrastructure, lack of health care workers and other basic barriers to access.”

“Public-private partnerships and technology transfer arrangements are just a few examples of the innovative collaborations taking place between the pharmaceutical industry, governments, NGOs, academics and other stakeholders to achieve a common goal – improving public health,” said Richard Kjeldgaard, Associate Vice President for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.  “These initiatives complement the current IP system and have been effective in improving regional health outcomes.”

A Patient Declaration on Medical Innovation and Access further supports this call for the protection of a strong environment in the Americas for medical innovation.  Signed by over 110 patients and patient representatives from 26 countries around the world, the Patient Declaration recommends that the WHO and PAHO:

  • Ensure effective healthcare infrastructure in developing countries to help prevent disease and optimize use of medicines; 
  • Support strategies to improve access to safe treatments; 
  • Ensure strong incentives for continued R&D and innovation; 
  • Investigate and adopt other access initiatives such as the GAVI Alliance and public-private partnerships.

As the Pan-American Health Organization meets this week, it is important that delegates understand the importance of fostering a strong environment for medical innovation to protect the health of future generations.

This event was supported by PhRMA, which shares the stakeholders’ views on the need for a comprehensive approach to providing health care and innovative medicines in the Americas.

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