Leading Nigerian Official Fighting Drug Counterfeiters Survives Attack By Gunmen

Dr. Paul Orhii, the Director General of Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), survives an attack on his life.

In a story which appeared in Afrique en Ligne, unknown gunmen attempted to kill Dr. Paul Orhii, the Director General of Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

NAFDAC is charged with fighting the problem of counterfeit drugs in Nigeria. Nigeria is a country whose population is at the epicenter of the counterfeit drug trade and its impact as caused significant health care issues and death to consumers of bogus medications.

Dr. Orhii was attacked by unknown gunman in his car as he was returning from his village in northern Benue state to the capital city of Abuja.

According to the Afrique en Ligne story:

• A Mercedes Benz car in which four gunmen were riding pulled up next to the NAFDAC SUV that Orhii was riding in at Akwanga, along the Keff-Abuja road and one of the men in the sedan pulled out a gun and attempted to shoot at the Director General. The police escort behind Orhii's vehicle was able to ram the SUV, distracting the shooter. Policemen quickly jumped out of their vehicle to surround the gunmen’s car, however they were ordered not shoot to avoid killing innocent civilians, and the gunmen escaped.

• Orhii and NAFDAC are determined to put an end to the proliferation of fake drugs in Nigera and have declared war on importers and manufacturers of counterfeits.

• This is not the first attack on the life of a NADSAC representative in Nigeria. In August, a number of NAFDAC officials, in the process of confiscating goods from a fake drug dealer in Onueke, Ezza South Local Government Area, were attacked in the Ebonyi State by a mob of youths who were reportedly bribed by counterfeit drug dealers.

• An attempt on the life of the former NAFDAC boss, Professor Dora Akunyili, who is now the Minister of Information, was made in 2003 while returning from his village in southeastern Nigeria.

• Orhii recently appeared in a HDTV special with Dan Rather regarding his efforts to rid Nigeria of counterfeit drugs.

The huge profits from the criminal activity of counterfeit pharmaceuticals can dwarf the profitability of the trade of illicit drugs and this act has attracted violent organized gangs.

Counterfeiting is not a victimless crime of knock off purses or designer clothing perpetrated by individuals but a serious organized threat to consumers globally.

As violent criminal enterprises that trade in this deadly activity increases so to does the threat to consumers proliferate world wide. Counterfeit drug victims are not people who chose to take drugs from nefarious sources but do so because they have been duped, often with significant ramifications to their health and well being and very often with deadly consequences.

Dr. Orhii is a prominant leader in taking on these violent criminals in Nigeria and it is time that officials and industry leaders around the globe take similar action against these organizations that threaten entire unsuspecting populations with their bogus wares.

To read the entire Afrique en Ligne story, visit: http://www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/nigeria:-head-of-nigeria.

To learn about technologies used to fight counterfeit drugs, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

Airlines Warned About Counterfeit Drugs

Aviation India a publication that services the Indian civil aviation industry is reporting that large consignments of fake Indian drugs manufactured in China are finding their way to Nigeria.

The Nigerian authorities are apparently warning airlines that they would be held responsible for spurious drugs carried by passengers flying into that country. The warning was issued by the NAFDAC following complaints from Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Given the severe epidemic and deadly impact on the population due to counterfeit drugs necessitates the Nigerian Government taking extreme actions to thwart this deadly criminal act.

Hopefully commercial interests and industry will be part of the solution in eradicating this global blight.

To learn about pharmaceutical supply chain security technologies, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

AllAfrica.com: Nigerian Customs Hands Fake Drug Importer to NAFDAC

As reported in the June 29th edition of AllAfrica.com, the Nigerian Customs Service FCT handed over a suspected fake drug and contraband textile materials importer to the Nigerian National Agency for Food, Drugs and Control (NAFDAC).

According to All Africa.com:

· In a press conference, Usman K. Bellow, the Customs Area Comptroller, FTC Command stated that the suspect, Mrs Anyaoha Ngozi Margret was arrested at the airport with 12 bags of CIPRO tabs 500mg and 87 veils of textile materials.He said following the request from NAFDAC, the Comptroller General of Customs, Abdullahi Dikko Inde approved the handing over of the suspect and the medicaments to them.
· Bello said it is very disheartening to see Nigerian traders importing fake medicaments with the intention of selling to unsuspected Nigerians who will eventually be harm by the drugs.
· He said: "It is really a very bad and sad way of making money while killing innocent Nigerians. It should be noted that importation of pharmaceuticals are allowed by law. These items are dutiable not banned but there is a procedure such as registration of NAFDAC etc."
· The comptroller also warned Nigerians to desist from smuggling contraband goods such as textile materials, adding that the nefarious crime is responsible for crippling the country's economy especially the manufacturing sector.

Secure Pharma Chain Blog is encouraged by this latest interdiction in Nigeria an area impacted especially hard by the deadly crime of pharmaceutical counterfeiting and encourages all members of the pharmaceutical supply chain to enhance their protection of inventories by deploying anti-counterfeiting technologies and solutions.

To read the entire AllAfrica.com story, visit: http://allafrica.com/stories/201006300123.html.

To learn more about pharmaceutical anti-counterfeiting technologies, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

17% of Drugs in Nigeria are Fake

In an article which appeared in the Nigerian Guardian newspaper, the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has disclosed that about 16.7 per cent of drugs in Nigerian markets are counterfeit and are unfit for human consumption.

The announcement was made by the Director General of the Agency, Dr. Paul Orhii, during a meeting with Cross River State Deputy Governor, Efiok Cobham.

Many experts believe that this estimate is overly conservative and only includes products that are within the legitimate supply chain, factoring in gray or black markets in a country with a very loose pharmaceutical supply chain, the percentage is likely much higher.

According to the Guardian:

· Orhii declared that the major challenge facing the agency is the importation of fake drugs into the country by some unscrupulous people, adding that it has become so difficult to differentiate between genuine and counterfeit drugs in the market.
· Orhii, who decried the leniency of the law against the importers and marketers of fake drugs in Nigeria, said operatives of the agency in Lagos recently intercepted a container loaded with over 700,000 fake anti-malaria drugs that were labelled 'Made in India', whereas they were imported from China.
· Orhii said NAFDAC has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian government to impose life imprisonment as penalty for importers of fake drugs into the country.

Nigeria has been besieged by a variety of fake medication incidents that have directly killed hundreds each year and is thought to have killed thousands indirectly through drug resistant diseases caused by counterfeit drugs.

Secure Pharma Chain Blog endorses the authentication and verification of all inventories within the pharmaceutical supply chain to eradicate fraudulent, adulterated and counterfeit drugs.

To learn more about pharmaceutical authentication technologies, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

To read the entire article, visit: www.ngrguardiannews.com.

Diethylene glycol, killer on the prowl

Nigerian death toll rises in tainted infant teething drug

The latest victims to greed are the smallest among us…….

Over 45 babies have died in Nigeria from the tainted teething syrup, "My Pikin Baby Teething Mixture". The medicine is contaminated with diethylene glycol, causing kidney failure in the children who died.

The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has shut down the manufacturer of "My Pikin", Lagos-based Barewa Pharmaceuticals, as well as a company called Tranxell Ltd, which is believed to have supplied chemicals to Barewa and possibly to other local drugs manufacturers.

Diethylene-glycol-contaminated products have had a long history in dealing death. This chemical, which is used in antifreeze, is sometimes added illegally as a cheaper sweetener or thickening agent with deadly results.
So deadly in fact, that the catastrophic deaths following its first use in medicines led to the passage of the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

In 1937 more than 100 U.S. citizens, many of them children, died when diethylene-glycol was added to an antibiotic to make the liquid form, Elixir Sulfanilamide.

And their deaths were painful as noted in a grieving mother’s letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt:

"The first time I ever had occasion to call in a doctor for [Joan] and she was given Elixir of Sulfanilamide. All that is left to us is the caring for her little grave. Even the memory of her is mixed with sorrow for we can see her little body tossing to and fro and hear that little voice screaming with pain and it seems as though it would drive me insane. ... It is my plea that you will take steps to prevent such sales of drugs that will take little lives and leave such suffering behind and such a bleak outlook on the future as I have tonight."

According to the World-wide Organization of the Health during the 1980's and 1990's more than 600 people were killed by this type of contamination.

Furthermore it continues still today and is becoming more prevalent. In 2007, Diethylene glycol was found in contaminated toothpaste manufactured in China. Over a hundred people died in Panama. That same year The New York Times reported that about 900,000 tubes turned up in the United States, including correctional facilities, juvenile detention centers, and some hospitals, as well as discount stores.

In today’s global economy ingredients can be manufactured anywhere and consumers rely on companies to look out for their safety. Authentication of raw materials is essential to ensure the safety of consumers and mitigate the risks of contamination to the finished product.

Pharmaceutical Regulatory News Headlines - Week of October 31, 2008

In the United States, Halloween is the day for Tricks and Treats. But - Globally regulatory authorities have Penalties not Treats for would be counterfeiters.

Here are a few of stories that we at XStream Systems think are noteworthy as it relates to the ever growing issues of counterfeit and adulterated medications. Global regulatory authorities are now recognizing the increasing threat these fraudulent products place on their citizens and are taking legal actions to discourage it:

Saudi Arabia: Local Markets Flooded with Counterfeit Drugs
Agreements were made on Tuesday to step up legal action against counterfeiters in Saudi Arabia to ensure consumer safety. According to Abdullah Al-Abdelgader, a pharmaceutical manufacturing director, counterfeit drugs account for around 30-40 percent of medicines sold at local pharmacies and hospitals in Saudi Arabia and expose consumers to great risk. In the Gulf area, the counterfeiting economy accounts for $13 billion, with a share of $4 billion in the Saudi market. ("Some 30-40% of Medicines Sold Locally 'Are Counterfeit', Says Manufacturer," Saudi Gazette, October 22, 2008)

FDA Oversight of Foreign Drugs Lacking
The Food and Drug Administration is failing to keep accurate data about foreign drug facilities it is supposed to oversee and often doesn't follow up warning letters with inspections, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. The House Energy and Commerce Committee introduced a bill that would mandate foreign inspections at a rate close to that of FDA inspections of U.S. plants. U.S. companies are inspected about every 2.7 years, but the rate for foreign inspections is roughly once every 13 years. ("FDA Is Faulted for Oversight of Foreign Drugs," Wall Street Journal, October 21, 2008)

Nigeria: Government Takes Steps to Block Counterfeit Drugs
The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has blocked 22 Indian pharmaceutical companies from importing and distributing drugs in Nigeria. The agency has outlawed the use of about 40 imported drugs in the country, describing them as potentially dangerous for human consumption. As part of its efforts to curb drug counterfeits, NAFDAC is advocating for greater public education and awareness. ("Fake Drugs: NAFDAC Bans 22 Indian Firms," AllAfrica.com, October 22, 2008)

XStream Systems thinks that its penetrating authentication technology can be an integral part of the comprehensive solution to this global problem.