The fake drugs with 'made in India' labels but purportedly made by Chinese continue to flood the African markets, especially Nigeria, according to Dr Paul B Ohri, the director general of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC).
“We came across such a case two months ago also and reported it. I think, such cases are continuing and we report every such case to Indian High Commission there,” Dr Paul said during an interaction with Pharmabiz.
He said the Nigerian authorities had taken up the matter with the Chinese government also and got assurance to take steps against such companies. “We are also taking firm measures to deal with fake and spurious drugs in our country,’’ he said. However, he said the NAFDAC was not planning any onsite visits to the facilities in China as India has planned to do.
In June last year, the Nigerian authorities had seized a large consignment of fake anti-malarial generic drugs with `made in India’ label and later it was found that they were produced by Chinese companies. India had taken up the matter strongly with the Chinese authorities also.
The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) and the Nigerian National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further step up bilateral relations to promote the pharmaceutical trade.
The MoU will cover forging more understanding between the two sides to encourage exports and imports, anti-counterfeit fight, capacity building measures in Nigeria, collaboration in regulatory affairs, and clinical trials. The MoU was signed by NAFDAC director general Dr Paul B Ohri and Joint Secretary in DoP Arun Jha recently.
“We have been collaborating with India in many aspects of pharma trade including regulatory affairs at various forums and areas. We want to step up this bilateral collaboration and give more opportunities to Indian exporters,’’ Dr Paul told Pharmabiz. As part of the capacity-building, the NAFDAC has tied up with NIPER to train the official from Nigeria.