NIGERIA – Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) and global pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, have joined forces in the battle against counterfeit medicine in Nigeria.
Pfizer is collaborating with industry stakeholders to ensure patients have information to avoid counterfeit medicines.
The partnership was struck between PSN President, Prof. Cyril Usifoh and Pfizer’s Country Manager/Cluster Lead for West Africa, Olayinka Subair.
“Pfizer is seeking collaboration with agencies, pharmaceutical organizations, doctors, pharmacists, and industry partners to raise awareness on counterfeit medicines,” noted Pfizer.
Subair noted that the was a growing need for industry players to create awareness about the dangers of counterfeit medicine and pharmaceutical products.
“The threat of counterfeit is not going away. Pfizer is seeking collaboration to educate consumers about counterfeit medicines because patients need to protect their health from counterfeiters,” Subair reiterated.
The Pfizer Country Manager also noted counterfeit medicines often missed key ingredients and dosages or contain harmful ingredients.
Consequently, the patients who are exposed to counterfeits, including life-saving medicines for cancer and heart disease, lose the therapeutic benefits they rely on for their conditions.
“Together, we seek to tackle this threat by stopping counterfeits before they reach patients, giving consumers the information they need to make the right choices, and supporting healthcare providers in our communities,” said Subair.
Pfizer’s Country Manager, decried the perennial burden of illicit trade of medicines in the country, saying it requires adequate enlightenment of patients on the identification of such products and the knowledge to protect their health from substandard medicines.
In his response, the PSN President accepted the offer for collaboration, as he pledged the support of the Society to team up with the pharma company in ridding of unwholesome medicines.
Usifoh said PSN remained committed to maintaining a high standard of professional ethics and discipline among its members and promised to work with Pfizer in the battle against counterfeiting.
“We would see how we can amplify this by reaching out to stakeholders and driving this campaign,” Usifoh said.
The challenge of fighting counterfeit pharmaceuticals in Nigeria
The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes counterfeit medicines as substandard, unregistered/unlicensed, and falsified drugs, which can be found in illegal street markets, via unregulated websites through to pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals.
WHO estimates that 1 in 10 medical products in low- and middle-income countries is substandard or falsified while affirming that substandard and falsified medical products contribute to antimicrobial resistance and drug-resistant infections.
The Nigerian National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, NPHDA, said that over 70 percent of medicines being dispensed in Nigeria were substandard.
Moreover, the agency noted that the majority of Nigerians did not have access to quality health services.
To illustrate the scale of the problem, in August 2022 officers of the Nigeria Customs Service in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control destroyed 48 containers of substandard drugs coming into the country.
Moreover, most streets in Nigeria have medicine merchants, popularly known as chemists, in various corners dispensing drugs at will, even without certification.
Recently, to fight the flood of fake medicine, the NPHDA in partnership with Chekkit Technologies, created stickers with unique codes that manufacturers and distributors can attach to boxes and sachets of pills.
Moreover, consumers can then use apps on their phones to scan the code and confirm their authenticity which enables manufacturers to see the number of new customers using their products.
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