We have mechanism to detect fake products — NAFDAC DG
By Matthew Denis, Abuja
In the continuous fight to flush out counterfeit drugs in the Market, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) has acquired a device to detect fake products.
The Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye made the disclosure while unveiling the 74 newly purchased operational vehicles for the agency in Abuja.
She said, “We have put measures to protect the society against fake medicine before the maturity level three, that is our night and day activities you know we all take medicine and we’re protecting ourselves.
“Sometimes those who sell fake medicine tell not be able to distinguish it between the fake and genuine products. There was some rumour somewhere that about 70 percent of our products are not good that is untrue.
“I’ll say at about 15 percent because we’re doing what we call Risk based sampling of products that we know can be easily faked as we speak, it’s part of our maturity level three and we have to show them that we have mechanism to track product that can be easily faked then it’s a survey and we get an idea how much is out that may be fake, it’s around 15 percent.
“But we are going to be mitigating it as we speak our staff are working uploading some tools on laptop and we are going to be using a device that cost about $57,000 each and we have about 40 of them. It’s like those cell phone you place it on this tablet or capsule this paracetamol and it will also show the quantity we are doing that on the side because that is what they want to see.”
Prof. Adeyeye stressed that the agency is also doing track and trace which is a highly technical process to monitor the supply chain from the manufacturer to the end user.
According to her, “It is not something you do overnight we started with our COVID-19, we know where every vaccine is in the country because of the track and trace technology. We are going to do that for antimalarial, antituberclosis and HIV/AIDS.”
The DG revealed that they have already directed local manufacturers to put in place track and trace device in their factories so that they can monitor from the manufacturers to the pharmacists that will dispense in the health facilities.
Earlier, the NAFDAC boss emphasised that the newly purchased 74 operational vehicles will strengthen the condition of services to the staff and welfarism to desist from compromising with pharmaceutical companies during inspections.
“The operational vehicles will assist our staff not to compromise with manufacturing companies who usually gives their vehicles out to convey our staff for inspections,” she said.
