Malaria Treatment & Prevention
Lancet: Poor-quality antimalarial drugs in southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa
Summary: Poor-quality antimalarial drugs lead to drug resistance and inadequate treatment, which pose an urgent threat to vulnerable populations and jeopardise progress and investments in combating malaria. Emergence of artemisinin resistance or tolerance in Plasmodium falciparum on the Thailand—Cambodia border makes protection of the effectiveness of the drug supply imperative. We reviewed published and unpublished studies reporting chemical analyses and assessments of packaging of antimalarial drugs. Of 1437 samples of drugs in five classes from seven countries in southeast Asia, 497 (35%) failed chemical analysis, 423 (46%) of 919 failed packaging analysis, and 450 (36%) of 1260 were classified as falsified. In 21 surveys of drugs from six classes from 21 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, 796 (35%) of 2297 failed chemical analysis, 28 (36%) of 77 failed packaging analysis, and 79 (20%) of 389 were classified as falsified. Data were insufficient to identify the frequency of substandard (products resulting from poor manufacturing) antimalarial drugs, and packaging analysis data were scarce. Concurrent interventions and a multifaceted approach are needed to define and eliminate criminal production, distribution, and poor manufacturing of antimalarial drugs. Empowering of national medicine regulatory authorities to protect the global drug supply is more important than ever.
Attached resources:
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NYT Malaria: Fake and Substandard Drugs Grow as Threat to Fight Disease (external URL) Link leads to: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/health/policy/fake-and-substandard-drugs-grow-as-threat-to-fight-malaria.html?_r=1
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Lancet: Poor-quality antimalarial drugs in southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (external URL) Link leads to: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(12)70064-6/fulltext
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Reuters: Fake drugs threaten gains made in war on malaria (external URL) Link leads to: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/21/us-malaria-drugs-idUSBRE84K1AG20120521
Gil Germain Padonou
Hi Sophie,
It's really sad. When are we will seriously with drugs? With what I see malaria eradication may be the same dream that the period of 1960. It requires political will of our leaders to fight against drug counterfeiting.Empowering of national medicine regulatory authorities to protect the global drug supply is more important than ever: I agree.
Best regards
Gil Germain Padonou
1:03 PM, 23 May 2012 | Permalink
Wellington Oyibo
What we have to rise up to is to strengthen drug/diagnostics regulation/control institutions to undertake rigorous post-marketing quality testing of drugs with enabling laws to punish offenders. The political will comes in here. These are in-country peculiarities.
Though we are focusing on drugs at this time, the status of quality among other malaria intervention is unknown. WHO/FIND has in an unprecedented fashion embarked on yearly Product Evaluation on the Malaria RDTs. This has helped public procurement decisions on malaria RDT substantially but weak avenues for private sector sales of poor quality diagnostics exists due to poor regulation and control on the registration and monitoring of medical devices.
Engagements with identified or highly prone countries in creating in-country platforms in a sustainable and effective manner is one of the ways forward.
Wellington
3:09 PM, 24 May 2012 | Permalink
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