SFDA: Kingdom vigilant against entry of counterfeit medicines

The Kingdom has taken effective measures to monitor the import of counterfeit medicines to the Kingdom, Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA), Mohammed bin Ahmed Al-Kanhal said yesterday.
Al-Kanhal was speaking at a conference on “Combating counterfeit medicines” at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI).
The conference was organized by the RCCI in cooperation with the SFDA. Delegates from government and non-governmental organizations that deal with the pharmaceutical industry were present at the symposium.
Explaining the measures taken by the Kingdom to protect the country from fake pharmaceuticals, Al-Kanhal said customs have seized 1007 types of counterfeit medicines brought in by pilgrims during Haj season. “We deployed around 40 pharmacists at all 16 entry points to the Kingdom, during Haj season to monitor medication transferred by the pilgrims,” he noted.
The SFDA has also set up 10 centers throughout the Kingdom to check for fake medicines, manned by 46 local officers.
Furthermore, the SFDA has also allocated SR 1.3 million to conduct random check –ups on pharmaceuticals sold in various outlets in the Kingdom.
On detecting fake medication, the SFDA will report the matter to the commercial fraud section of the Ministry of Commerce for necessary action, he noted.
These preventive measures are being undertaken by the SFDA in coordination with the Saudi Customs, Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Health, the chairman said.
The Saudi drug market is the largest in the Middle East Region, exceeding SR 10 billion. This has triggered the SFDA to undertake a comprehensive move toward regulating the existing practices in the local drug market.
Early this year, the SFDA launched the Saudi Code of Ethics for the marketing of pharmaceutical products in the Kingdom. This code of ethics is considered a moral and ethical agreement attested to by all the drug factories and organizations working in this field, as well as practitioners in the health care sector.
During a presentation, Yacoub Haddad, Public Affairs and Policy Director of MSD, stated that fifty percent of the drugs purchased on-line are counterfeited. He further explained that 50 percent of these products have wrong ingredients, while 17 percent do not have the stipulated ingredients indicated in the prescription.
Haddad pointed out that counterfeit drugs are a global problem, not confined to a particular region or country. “They are found in expensive life-saving drugs as well as in cheap medication used for common cold and cough,” he noted.
China is the largest producer of counterfeit drugs and 50 to 70 percent of all pharmaceutical products in Africa are fake.
Haddad said he is pleased that a conference has been arranged to discuss the seriousness of this problem, as false medicines can lead to serious health hazards among people. He hoped that this conference would create awareness among all the concerned people who are dealing with the import and supply of medication to the Kingdom. To reduce the import of counterfeit medicines, Haddad suggested that the chain link of imported drugs should be limited to the manufacturer, registered supplier and the local distributor.
The delegates at the conference concluded that there should be a national strategy to fight this menace, which will otherwise take a huge toll on innocent people’s lives.