Kenya sets up mini labs to test counterfeit medicine

Kenya's drug regulatory body said Wednesday it has acquired 11 mini laboratories to aid the rapid medicine quality verification against the substandard and falsified and counterfeit medicine detection.

The Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) said the portable laboratories worth 60,000 U.S. dollars have already been distributed to various ports of entry and regional sites to carry out routine screening of medicines.

"The laboratories are also used to support post marketing surveillance activities, which test for quality of anti-malarial, anti-tuberculosis and anti-retroviral drugs," PPB Registrar Koskei Kipkerich said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

Kipkerich observed that the new equipment are to ensure that safe, quality and efficacy of medical products are consumed in Kenya.

"The mini laboratories are low-cost and designed to help developing countries detect substandard medicine entering into their countries," he added.

The kit verifies label claims on drug identity and content, and detects substandard medicines containing the wrong, much too high, low or zero levels of active ingredients.

Kikerich revealed that once the screening of the products in the field are done, any suspicious product is then taken for confirmatory testing at the National Quality Control Laboratory and other approved laboratories, thereby cutting down the cost of analysis.

The mini laboratory also enables pre-testing of medicines before receipt to facilitate quick and evidence-based decision-making, strengthens the post-marketing surveillance, equips the PPB staff with skills to assess quality of medicines with minimum resources, help the agency attain remarkable cost savings in the Quality Assurance scheme and also monitors storage conditions through random analysis of stored medicines.

PPB continuously monitors the quality of pharmaceuticals products circulating in the Kenyan market so as to ensure that the citizens get the right quality of products.

Medical products imported into the country pass through designated Points of Entry where PPB officers, along with other border control agencies, are deployed to inspect and authorize imports and exports.

With the above equipment, PPB is now in a position to continuously monitor the quality of the pharmaceutical products in the Kenyan market at a cost effective way.

The agency has the sole responsibility to protect the health of the public by regulating the profession of pharmacy and ensuring quality, safety, and efficacy of the medical products and health technologies. Endit