By Ajuma Edwina Ogiri
Abuja
In a decisive move to achieve President Goodluck Jonathan’s declarative statement on zero tolerance to counterfeit drugs, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has commenced enforcement of the deadline for implementation of the Mobile Authentication Service (MAS) by pharmaceutical companies nationwide.
According to a press statement signed by the Director, Special Duties of the agency, Abubakar Jimoh, the enforcement operation started in Abuja on Wednesday, July 2, 2014 under the auspices of the Pharmacovigilance and Post Marketing Surveillance Directorate of NAFDAC.
It said the enforcement is geared towards mopping up from circulation, all anti-malarials and antibiotic medicines that do not carry on their labels, the MAS scratch and text authentication codes which were introduced since 2010 by NAFDAC’s Director-General, Dr. Paul Orhii, to save consumers from the menace of fake drugs.
The statement quoted the director-general as saying there is no going back on enforcement of compliance with the MAS deadline, which has been shifted twice in the last 3 years due to plea by segment of the pharmaceutical industry.
Orhii disclosed that firm instruction has been given to all NAFDAC offices across the country to go round various pharmaceutical outlets to enforce compliance as deadline is irreversible.
He said MAS has put the power of detecting counterfeit drugs in the hands of over 100million mobile phone users in the country, adding that the international community is full of commendation for Nigeria for pioneering the use of cutting-edge technologies in combating counterfeit medicines.
Meanwhile, the enforcement team led by Director of PVG/BMS, Mrs. Adeline Osakwe cracked down on over 50 pharmacies in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja who were found to have stocked anti-malarial and anti-biotic drugs without the scratch and text codes.
