By Conan Businge
and Brian Mayanja

ABOUT three tonnes of fake cough syrup have been confiscated by the National Drug Authority. The fake drugs include Nokop 200ml, a cough, cold and flu linctus mixture and MAGNIC (Magnesium Trisilicate Mixture) 200ml.

Some of the fake drugs are believed to be on sale across the country and in Southern Sudan, according to David Nahamya, the licensing and post-market surveillance boss in the drugs authority.

The fake drugs were manufactured by Safeways Company, also known as Levi Safeways Company.

He said the manufacturer of the confiscated drugs was operating without a licence.
“He was an illegal manufacturer and the quality of his drugs was also found wanting,” Nahamya explained.

To manufacture drugs in Uganda, Nahamya explained, one must obtain a licence from the drugs watchdog.

This is meant to ensure that the quality of the drugs is good and that the pre-requisite conditions are met by the manufacturer.

Nahamya added that it is not easy to estimate the amount of fake drugs out in the market.

The authority spokesperson, Fredrick Ssekyana, said: “Since the manufacturer does not have a production licence, we cannot guarantee their safety. We advise all people not to consume them. They should also not be sold anywhere in Uganda.”

A survey by The New Vision in drug stores and pharmacies around Kampala city did not find any of the fake syrup on sale.

The crackdown on fake drugs comes months after the International Police (Interpol) impounded assorted counterfeit drugs worth sh200m in nine districts in the country.

In September last year, five tonnes of medicines were impounded in an operation by Interpol, National Drug Authority and the World Health Organisation and the International Medical Products Anti Counterfeiting Taskforce.

One of the drugs, Chloroquine, was found in containers labelled Quinine because the drug (Quinine) is more expensive and would fetch the seller more money. But Chloroquine is no longer recommended for the treatment of malaria.

Another drug, Amodiaquine, had the same batch number, but different expiry dates.

In another instance, Panadol, was found in tins labelled Co-trimoxale, which is commonly known as Septrin. Patients of HIV/AIDS use Septrin before they can start taking anti-retroviral drugs.

The other drugs that failed laboratory tests last year include Metakelfin, chloramphenicol injection and Quinine sulphate.

Lumartem, Quinine injection Arco, and Duocotexcin are free drugs that were stolen from public stores in Kenya and Tanzania.

The high cost of genuine drugs, especially for the new malaria treatment, which costs about $8 (about sh17,000) per dose or more, has made the population resort to cheap, but normally fake and less effective alternatives.