Uganda investigates Radium Pharmaceuticals over antibiotic Cloxacillin
Uganda has recently suffered what the the country's National Drug Authority (NDA) has described as 'A flood of fake and counterfeit drugs and medications' and the latest scandal concerns a previously rejected antibiotic drug, Cloxacillin.
Uganda has recently suffered what the the country's National Drug Authority (NDA) has described as 'A flood of fake and counterfeit drugs and medications' and the latest scandal concerns a previously rejected antibiotic drug, Cloxacillin.
According to a recent audit report by the National Medical Stores (NMS), the drug capsules have appeared in Kampala pharmacies apparently manufactured by Radium Pharmaceuticals, a company owned by Asians with strong links to senior government officials. Cloxacillin is a semi-synthetic antibiotic in the same class as Penicillin manufactured by Fredun Pharmaceuticals, Mumbai, India.
Radium has been previously accused of supplying fake drugs, and is currently under investigation for alleged relabelling expired drugs and forging certificates of analysis. The NDA has ordered an immediate quarantine of the drug and suspension of contracts with Radium Pharmaceuticals.
An investigation by the Quality Assurance section of NMS concluded in September that a consignment of 164 x 1000 Cloxacillin tablets batch number 4170 supplied in August had earlier been rejected in June for being out-dated. The current consignment had poor gluing, dirty labels, poor typing of expiry dates and clearly shows that the repackaging was carried out in Kampala.