Dear E-druggers,
In the first half of 1996 36 samples of 15 different drugs from the Ethiopian
Red Cross Society (ERCS) were tested in Denmark. I'll quote a paragraph
from the Annual Review of the Essential Drugs Program of ERCS of October 1996:
"In 1993 ten different drugs from 4 different suppliers were randomly selected
for quality control by the 2nd External Review Team. The drugs were analysed in
Denmark and all met the required standards.
In 1996 thirty-six batches covering 15 different drugs and 2 different
suppliers were selected by Ministry of Health for control. The selected drugs were
embargoed by Ministry of Health during the period of analysis, which is a very
unusual procedure. Usually drugs from international GMP accepted manufacturers
with authorized analytical certificates can stay on the market when
selected for
testing by the authorities in a given country. The only requirement is that it
can be documented that the selected drugs can be traced to the retailers to
enable efficient and timely withdrawal from the market in the exceptional
case a drug fails to meet the quality standards.
On initiative of ERCS and DRC the same 36 batches were selected for quality
control tests. The pharmaceutical, technical and chemical analyses were
performed either by an independent control laboratory in Denmark or by the
National Board of Health (Medicines Control Office) in Denmark. Thirty-five out
of the 36 batches fulfilled the required quality specifications. One batch
failed because of a minor deviation, which did not harm the effect of the
drug."
Maybe this is of help to you to get a better picture of counterfeit and/or
substandard drugs in Africa.
Greetings,
Frank Winnubst
Garonnelaan 26
5627 VV Eindhoven, Netherlands