Donor governments need to conduct more post-market oversight of generic medicines

The WHO and FDA approve drugs to treat malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases in low- and middle-income countries, but "some of the manufacturers, predominantly Chinese and Indian firms, may be knowingly producing" poor quality medicines, according to "the conclusion of my research teams' studies, published this week in the journal Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine," Roger Bate, resident scholar with the American Enterprise Institute and lead author of the studies, writes in a Washington Post opinion piece. "With little or no oversight, these companies may be cutting corners in the manufacturing process -- or worse, watering down the active ingredient in their drugs, perhaps when the price of the raw material spikes and supply becomes harder to obtain," he states, adding, "By exposing people to insufficient doses of the active ingredient, the drugs may also accelerate drug resistance and cause tremendous harm to whole populations in the long run."

"To add insult to injury, some of the drugs we tested had been bought through Western donor programs, funded by taxpayers, and steered through aid programs to African markets," Bate writes, continuing, "And our governments, which spend billions on aid programs designed to stop them, may inadvertently be causing harm by increasing access to substandard treatments." He adds, "The reality is that once a manufacturer gets the green light to sell its drugs in Africa -- sometimes through the lucrative donor programs -- there are often no consequences for failing to maintain a high standard of quality." Though the WHO has launched an investigation based on the studies' results, "[d]onor governments should urgently step up post-market surveillance and increase penalties for repeat offenders," Bate says, concluding, "If donor governments took drug quality as seriously in Africa as they do in their own countries, they could save lives and increase the impact of the public health programs taxpayers fund" (7/12).


http://www.kaiserhealthnews.orgThis article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Comments

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.

You might also like...
Study finds artemisinin resistance in African children with severe malaria