Red flag: Outlawed antimalarial drug still consumed in Kenya

A banned anti-malarial drug, Duo-Cotecxin, is still on sale in parts of the country, putting lives of patients in danger.

The Pharmacy and Poisons Board officials yesterday launched a crackdown on pharmacies still stocking the drugs and asked Kenyans to report those defying the ban.

Last year, former health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu confirmed that the government had ordered a re-call of the drug after it failed vital laboratory tests.

Yesterday, the director of inspection, surveillance and enforcement at the board Dr Jacinta Wasike, said they have taken measures to stop further importation of the drug over safety concerns.

Speaking in Kisumu yesterday, Dr Wasike said the alarm was raised last year after the drug of batch number 160621 failed a test.

“The drug, which is widely circulated across the country was declared sub-standard, quarantined and an order issued to withdraw it from pharmacy shelves,” she said.

She added, “When we got the information we carried out quality assurance of the batch; it did not met standards so we quarantined it.”

The drug samples purchased from a pharmacy outlet in Nairobi were manufactured by a Chinese firm and had an expiry date of 2018.

She said people take opportunities to exploit unsuspecting Kenyans and supply the market with fake drugs such as the recent “anti-venom” drugs that forced the government to issue a warning.

A Senior Inspector of Drugs at the Board, Julius Kalui said the board is creating public awareness on how to identify fake drugs.

Meanwhile, the board has closed down 79 unregistered chemist outlets in Nyanza and Western regions in four days.

Head of Goods Distribution Practices James Owuor said medicinal drugs should be dispensed according to standards set by the pharmacy and poison’s board.

The public can verify the health code PT6210 by sending it to 21031 via SMS to ascertain authenticity of a chemist.