Enact Counterfeits Bill, medics urge

Daily Nation (Kenya)
Friday, October 17 2008

Medical practitioners have asked members of Parliament to promptly enact the Counterfeit Bill, 2008, to save lives that could be lost due to the use of counterfeit medicine.

The most damaging effect of these drugs has been evident in malaria treatment, where due to consistent use of anti-malaria drugs without the right quantities of active ingredients, malaria parasites have become resistant to them.

“Malaria parasites have developed resistance to standards drugs because patients are taking counterfeit drugs, which don’t have the right quantities of the active ingredients, or have no active ingredients at all,” said GlaxoSmithKline medical and regulatory director, Mr William Mwatu.

Active ingredients

Worse still, some counterfeit anti-malaria medicine have no active ingredients to kill the parasites but contain paracetamol, Dr Mwatu said on Friday.

Paracetamol is commonly used for the relief of fever, headaches, and other minor aches and pains.

“When you have a malaria infection, you get fever and the drug will only help you reduce the fever. This might make you feel better, but your illness is worsening,” he told a press conference organised by Kenya Association of Manufacturers at Laico Regency Hotel, Nairobi.

Steady use of counterfeit medicine has not only had health implications but has also affected the cost of healthcare, because standard anti-malaria drugs are no longer working.

Recently, sulphur-based drugs such as Fansidar, lost their efficacy in the treatment of the disease, which has been blamed on the weakness of counterfeit drugs.

Kenya has now moved to using artemether–lumefantrine drug combinations such as Coartem in treating malaria. While the sulphur-based anti-malaria drugs were priced at around Sh50 a dose, the new drugs sell at about Sh500 a dose.

“Those selling counterfeit drugs should be imprisoned for life and forfeit property resulting from such business,” Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya chairman Stephen Ngugi said.

However, Dr Ngugi said counterfeit medicine should not be confused with generic drugs, which he said are effective and legitimate.

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