The Kenya Association of Pharmaceutical Industry (KAPI) in collaboration with the University of Nairobi is set to commission a nationwide study to establish the prevalence of unregulated medicines in Kenya.
KAPI Chairperson Dr Anastasia Nyalita says unregulated pharmaceutical products include illicit and counterfeit products,which are not sourced through the established channels.
The study results, Dr Nyalita said, will provide a foundation for policy and enforcement interventions as the Association will share the findings with the sector regulator, Kenya Revenue Authority, Ministry of Health, KAPI members, and related stakeholders.
“This will help us to have credible data that can be analysed further to aid in decision making among stakeholders including the Commissioner of Customs at KRA,” Dr Nyalita said.
The study comes hot on the heels of the recent market rollout of the KAPI Code of Practice, aimed at fostering ethical interactions between the local pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals. The new KAPI Code of Practice also seeks to enhance ethical educational and promotional efforts that benefit patients and promotional programs and collaborations that enhance the practice of medicine.
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Alongside the KAPI study, the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the International Institute for Research Against Counterfeit Medicines (IRACM) recently announced plans to intensify the fight against illicit and counterfeit drugs in Africa.
The plans by the WCO and IRACM are based on the results of their fourth common initiative in the fight against fake medicines on the African continent. They established that the number of illicit and potentially dangerous pharmaceutical products seizures have now reached dramatic proportions, with almost 900 million counterfeit and illicit medicines seized at the borders of the Africa continent.
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