Tanzania Pharmaceutical Industries (TPI) Deputy Managing Director Zarina Madabida addresses a news conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday. She said TPI had nothing to do with counterfeit antiretroviral drugs distributed in some parts of the country. PHOTO | SALHIM SHAO
By The Citizen Reporters
Dar es Salaam. The Arusha-based Tanzania Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (TPI) said yesterday it would continue producing anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) since it hasn’t received any official letter from the government ordering it to stop production.
On Wednesday, the Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Hussein Mwinyi, said the government has also stopped distribution of all drugs manufactured by TPI.
He also announced the suspension of the Medical Stores Department (MSD) director general Joseph Mgaya, MSD quality assurance manager Sadick Materu and MSD quality assurance officer David Masero.
The TPI deputy managing director, Ms Zarina Madabida, told a news conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday that her firm hasn’t received any communication barring it from production.
“Such order, if there is any, has come at a time when we are about to inaugurate our state-of-the-art plant in Arusha under a euro 5 million grant from the European Union,” she said.
Insisting that her plant manufactures genuine ARVs, Ms Madabida displayed, side-by-side with her firm’s ARVs – which she said were genuine – another variety she claimed was a contraband produced by unidentified Indian firms.
But in a quick rejoinder, Dr Mwinyi said the government wrote a letter to TPI on Wednesday directing it to halt production pending investigations.
“TPI will receive the letter today (yesterday) or tomorrow (today),” said the minister.
On TPI claims that it is manufacturing genuine ARVs, Dr Mwinyi said people should wait for the outcome of the investigations.
At the news conference yesterday, Ms Madabida cited four distinct differences between their product and the alleged fakes.
“Some of the differences may be seen by naked eyes, for a example the label on the fake ARVs is TT-VR 30 while our label is TT-VIR 30,” she said, adding that TPI has no technology or machines to produce bi-layer tablets.
She said the fake drugs are round with a bi-layer (two layers of white and orange colour).
“Ours are of white caplets, embossed on one side T30 and the other side TPI; another difference is in bottles used in supplying the medicines and then; we use small bottles with a neck and a narrow cap,” added Ms Madabida, adding: “The fakes are packed in wide bottles with a wide neck and cap.”
Ms Madabida, a Special Seats MP and a registered pharmacist, said her firm would never engage in producing fake drugs, for that would be self-destruction.
“I’ve close relatives taking ARVs… only a fool would try to harm their own relatives,” she said.
Ms Madabida saw malice from parties who might be envious of the fact her firm is being considered in a WHO project that would make it eligible for business with local and international funds.
During the Wednesday news conference, Dr Mwinyi said the investigations conducted in August by his ministry through TFDA, established the presence of fake ARV drug type TT-VIR 30; Batch No OC.01.85 at Tarime District Hospital.
Dr Mwinyi said that after laboratory tests, it was noted that the ARVs, manufactured in March 2011 with a February 2013 expiry date, were counterfeit with documentations showing that TPI had sold them to MSD.
He noted that the white tablets had the required combination of Niverapine, adding that the tablets were in package that is different from those that were registered at the TFDA.
The minister said the move taken by the government to suspend the MSD officials and to stop production and distribution of drugs manufactured by TPI was meant to pave the way for investigations.
According to the Tanzania Commission for Aids, 900,000 people are registered as Aids patients, though only 55 per cent of them are on ARVs.
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Committee on HIV and Aids has asked the government to explain in the next House sitting, steps that are being taken in dealing with fake ARVs.
Chairperson of the House Committee on HIV and Aids, Ms Lediana Mng’ong’o, said on Wednesday her committee and relevant bodies have discussed the ARV scam that has attracted national interest.“We have advised the government to have zonal MSD representatives to check the circulating substandard drugs,” she said.
She further said her committee was satisfied with the manner the government dealt with the problem, including the suspension of MSD top officials to pave the way for investigations.Meanwhile, the Network of People Living with HIV/Aids has asked the government to arrest and prosecute the owner of TPI, who they identified as Ramadhan Madabida.
The chairperson of the network, Ms Mwanahamisi Mhando, said the fake ARVs were intended to cut short the lives of people living with HIV.
Reported by Alex Bitekeye and Bernard Lugongo |
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