NMS Ordered To Explain Drug Deal
May 16, 2003
HEALTH state minister Capt. Mike Mukula has directed the National Medical Stores (NMS) board chairman, Prof. W.W. Anakbonggo, to explain the company’s impending drug deal with a private firm in Kampala.
By Yunusu Abbey
HEALTH state minister Capt. Mike Mukula has directed the National Medical Stores (NMS) board chairman, Prof. W.W. Anakbonggo, to explain the company’s impending drug deal with a private firm in Kampala.
Mukula said yesterday he had summoned Anakbonggo soon after reading The New Vision’s Thursday spotlight story headlined “NMS plans to export imported AIDS drugsâ€.
Meanwhile, a leading British firm, GlaxoSmithKline(GSK), which sells AIDS drugs to Uganda at subsidised rates, has warned NMS against selling its products for re-export.
Patrick Abelle, the Nairobi-based Glaxo-Wellcome (Kenya) Ltd country manager for Uganda, said GSK would stop selling its products to Uganda unless the malpractice is stopped.
GSK’s warning letter was copied to Kampala-based Surgi Pharm (U) Ltd., Eris (U) Ltd. and City Pharmacy, among other pharmacies authorised to sell its products in Uganda.
“It has come to our notice that some of our products could be getting into the wrong hands once supplied to you. Please note that the misuse of our products is against GSK mission,†Abelle said.
Mukula said, “It should be emphasised that the Ministry of Health cannot allow such a thing to happen. That’s why I summoned the board chairman and asked him to present to me a written statement not later than 5:00pm on Monday next week.
“We shall also institute an independent inquiry into the deal and other allegations brought against NMS. We are going to carry out a thorough probe. The CID is also investigating other allegations,†he said.
Under a March 18, 2002 agreement, the state-owned NMS contracted Landmark Pharmaceuticals (U) Ltd. for procurement advisory services and to negotiate drug prices for it in Europe.
The two parties agreed that after procuring the drugs, mainly anti-retrovirals for HIV/AIDS, NMS would sell them to Landmark, which would be free to re-sell the drugs elsewhere.
Landmark had, through C.W Europe Ltd., 57 Cranwood Street EC IV 9EE, London, already transferred £20,533 ($31,620.82) to the NMS account 87056-106616-00 in Standard Chartered Bank, Kampala.
“On April 29, 2003, NMS received advice from Standard Chartered Bank that there had been a telegraphic transfer of funds from a certain account in London to the NMS account,†a source said.
But it was still unclear whether NMS would refund the money deposited on its account following Mukula’s directive to stop the deal.
The head of the NMS finance, procurement and marketing committee, Muhammad Mbabaali, also reportedly wrote to the general manager, Robert Rutaagi, instructing him to stop the deal.
Meanwhile, NMS board members are still pressing management to produce proof for a sixth of a page advert allegedly placed in the London-based Weekly Telegraph at the cost of sh33m (16,830 euros or $16,762.68). The advert is said to have appeared once on September 13, 2002.
Board members want to know whether the amount paid to Global Press Business on August 30, 2002, was fair given the size of the advert.
Ends
HEALTH state minister Capt. Mike Mukula has directed the National Medical Stores (NMS) board chairman, Prof. W.W. Anakbonggo, to explain the company’s impending drug deal with a private firm in Kampala.
Mukula said yesterday he had summoned Anakbonggo soon after reading The New Vision’s Thursday spotlight story headlined “NMS plans to export imported AIDS drugsâ€.
Meanwhile, a leading British firm, GlaxoSmithKline(GSK), which sells AIDS drugs to Uganda at subsidised rates, has warned NMS against selling its products for re-export.
Patrick Abelle, the Nairobi-based Glaxo-Wellcome (Kenya) Ltd country manager for Uganda, said GSK would stop selling its products to Uganda unless the malpractice is stopped.
GSK’s warning letter was copied to Kampala-based Surgi Pharm (U) Ltd., Eris (U) Ltd. and City Pharmacy, among other pharmacies authorised to sell its products in Uganda.
“It has come to our notice that some of our products could be getting into the wrong hands once supplied to you. Please note that the misuse of our products is against GSK mission,†Abelle said.
Mukula said, “It should be emphasised that the Ministry of Health cannot allow such a thing to happen. That’s why I summoned the board chairman and asked him to present to me a written statement not later than 5:00pm on Monday next week.
“We shall also institute an independent inquiry into the deal and other allegations brought against NMS. We are going to carry out a thorough probe. The CID is also investigating other allegations,†he said.
Under a March 18, 2002 agreement, the state-owned NMS contracted Landmark Pharmaceuticals (U) Ltd. for procurement advisory services and to negotiate drug prices for it in Europe.
The two parties agreed that after procuring the drugs, mainly anti-retrovirals for HIV/AIDS, NMS would sell them to Landmark, which would be free to re-sell the drugs elsewhere.
Landmark had, through C.W Europe Ltd., 57 Cranwood Street EC IV 9EE, London, already transferred £20,533 ($31,620.82) to the NMS account 87056-106616-00 in Standard Chartered Bank, Kampala.
“On April 29, 2003, NMS received advice from Standard Chartered Bank that there had been a telegraphic transfer of funds from a certain account in London to the NMS account,†a source said.
But it was still unclear whether NMS would refund the money deposited on its account following Mukula’s directive to stop the deal.
The head of the NMS finance, procurement and marketing committee, Muhammad Mbabaali, also reportedly wrote to the general manager, Robert Rutaagi, instructing him to stop the deal.
Meanwhile, NMS board members are still pressing management to produce proof for a sixth of a page advert allegedly placed in the London-based Weekly Telegraph at the cost of sh33m (16,830 euros or $16,762.68). The advert is said to have appeared once on September 13, 2002.
Board members want to know whether the amount paid to Global Press Business on August 30, 2002, was fair given the size of the advert.
Ends