On Saturday 23 May 2015, the Western Solidarity Association of Pharmacists[1] (ASPO) held a congress of pharmacists in Oran, Algeria, dedicated to counterfeit medicines and safety of the drug.
On this occasion, Professor Yahia Dellaoui of the Faculty of Medicine of Oran said that “the problem of counterfeit drugs is exponentially growing and the situation is worrying in the world, but this counterfeiting has no place in Algeria. The State has established a very effective approach to fight against this phenomenon which is a real public health issue.”
According to Professor Dellaoui, the fight strategy against counterfeit medicines in Algeria relies in a 3-laboratory establishment:
- The National Pharmaceuticals Control Laboratory (LNCPP) based in Algiers issues marketing authorizations to drugs in the country.
- The Pharmacovigilance laboratory, also in Algiers, is in charge of monitoring the adverse events of imported or locally manufactured drugs.
- Finally, the toxicovigilance laboratory tests scientifically the drugs.
Pr. Dellaoui recognized however the presence of drugs imported fraudulently in the country. According to him, they are not counterfeit but brought into the country for specific requests. He then emphasized the danger of buying drugs on the internet.
This conference was an opportunity to differentiate 3 types of counterfeit drugs: products with a wrong dosage of active ingredient, with no active ingredient and containing impurities that can be harmful.
The experts gathered at this congress have made several recommendations to fight against this scourge:
- raise the general public, health professionals and public authorities awareness;
- strengthen international cooperation and sanctions against traffickers;
- develop means of vigilance and control;
- and finally develop a fluid cooperation between the different services: customs, police and health.