The Delhi Society for Promotion of Rational Use of Drugs (DSPRUD) is likely to make use of GPHF-Minilab, a mini laboratory for identifying counterfeit drugs, in its proposed survey for gauging the depth of spurious drug problem in Delhi and neighbouring states. GPHF-Minilab is being developed and supplied by German Pharma Health Fund (GPHF), an initiative of the research-based pharmaceutical companies in Germany.
Disclosing this to Pharmabiz.com, Dr Richard W O Jahnke, project manager, GPHF said that the society is interested in purchasing its Minilabs and talks are on to finalise the deal.
Minilab consists of some simple and tropics-compatible test methods designed to protect people in developing countries against the consequences of taking counterfeit or substandard drugs.
Testing the quality of drugs using the GPHF-Minilab involves a visual inspection of solid dosage forms including associated packaging material for a rapid rejection of counterfeits, a tablet and capsule-disintegration test for a preliminary assessment of deficiencies related to drug solubility and availability, simplified colour reactions for a quick check of any drug present, and semi-quantitative thin-layer chromatography tests for a check of any quantities of drug present, thus ensuring the drug's identity. These methods were developed in co-operation with the School of Pharmacy at the University of Bonn and the Department of Tropical Medicine at the Medical Mission Institute in Wuerzburg, Germany.
Dr Jahnke informed that there are eight institutions in India which are using Minilabs to check the quality of drugs. GPHF is in the process of popularizing the use of the lab among hospitals, Health NGOs etc, he added. Minilab was used by WHO as a rapid drug quality screening method during its Roll Back Malaria Programme. Recently, USP's Global Assistance Initiative bought 26 minilabs to be established in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia for surveillance of the antimalarial drug quality status, he added. There are about 120 minilabs functioning in 30 countries across the world.
According to Dr Jahnke, Minilabs will reduce the workload of drug control laboratories and can play a key role in keeping the costs of drug analyses in developing countries as low as possible. Establishing the labs as an early alert system out in the field will enable health authorities and other healthcare providers to tackle the widespread danger of trade in counterfeit medicines in a very efficient manner, he said.
However, Indian drug regulatory authorities are not convinced of the utility of the product. The Drugs Controller General of India informed pharmabiz that the testing facility does not have any governmental approval and the hospitals that are introducing the facilities are doing it on their own.