Substandard Malaria Drug Floods Nigerian Chemist Shops

Shade Oguntola, Kenya - 07.11.2009

There are evidences that a sizeable proportion of artesuanate-containing malaria medicine sold in medicine shops across the south western part of Nigeria, are of poor quality and dangerous.

Professor Oluseye Bolaji, a pharmaceutical chemist from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, at the ongoing World Malaria Conference in Kenya, said from the quality assessment of 25 brands of artesunate-containing malaria medicine randomly purchased from medicines shops, only 18 complied with the International Pharmacopoeia Standard of quality. Seven, he said, were of poor quality.

According to him, “In our assessment of these artesunate-containing malaria medicine manufactured in four different countries, including Nigeria, all had the artesunate in varying amounts in them. However, what was worrisome was the high level of impurities in some brands tested. Although, these may be impurities arising from the degradation of these medicines, but one is really not sure that these impurities are safe in human.”

He declared that the poor quality of artesunate-containing medicines would not encourage people to have confidence in drugs that they buy in chemists.

“There are antedontal reports of treatment failure using some brands of artesunate-containing medicines in the treatment of malaria. Already, NAFDAC said they had registered about 73 different brands of these artesunate-containing medicines for the treatment of malaria. That some might have in them impurities definitely is a risk to the lives of millions of Nigerians that buy them.”

Professor Bolaji declared “There is also the fear that now that artemisinin-based combination therapy has been adopted as the first line drug for malaria, it may present an obstacle to malaria control in the country by contributing to the growing resistance of malaria parasite to this medicine. Remember, this is the only effective medicine to cure malaria that we have in the world.”