A huge and powerful industry in the country, pharmaceuticals in Egypt has been a rigid sector for decades, with 86 percent of medication given to Egyptians manufactured locally. But how good are these products? And how big is the counterfeit sector in medication? Are local medications as good as imported ones?
In a bid to answer these questions, Egypt's Ministry of Health, with the cooperation of private-sector pharmaceutical company Novartis, held a conference on 28 October to address the efficacy and safety of drugs on the Egyptian market.
"I, as a doctor in that field, wish that there would come a day when cancer patients are given medicines that are manufactured in their own country," started Dr Hussein Khaled, ex-minister of higher education, underlining that strategies to advance the pharmaceutical industry in Egypt have to go hand-in-hand with monitoring the safety of available medicines.
"The ultimate goal is always the wellbeing of the patient and this will never be attained but by properly ensuring that he gets the right quality of medication," he said.
According to the Ministry of Health, some 1,700 warehouses and 56,300 pharmacies were closely inspected in 2014.
Around 255 complaints were reported to the police regarding counterfeit medications, in addition to 53 reports about the widely used drug Tramadol.
According to the same source, 280 license cancellations and 480 administrative closures were registered.
"We are taking all measures to ensure that all drugs on the market are of the highest quality, and to minimise the spread of counterfeit ones. Unlicensed establishments remain the biggest challenge to the pharmaceutical sector. In 2014, around 25 of these were reported," said Dr Tarek Salman, assistant minister of health for pharmaceutical affairs.
"Our patients count on the efficacy and safety of drugs in treating their illnesses, especially serious illnesses. Without these drugs, our patients' lives are threatened," said Dr Mervat Mattar, professor of internal medicine and clinical hematology at Cairo University.
Egypt still safe
When asked about the threat of fake medications, Dr Amr Saad, head of the Egyptian Pharmacovigilance Centre (EPVC), which works under the umbrella of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and oversees the quality of drugs in the market, stated the following:
• Fake drugs are not a local problem. According to the WHO, they make up to 10 to 40 percent of the international market.
• Pharmacies in Egypt should be monitored yet encouraged, as they are the main channel of medication provision to those in need.
• The real problem lies in satellite channels that broadcast advertisements promoting unreliable and unlicensed providers and medications. The role of the media and media responsibility regarding raising awareness on the problem is clear.
• It is unquestionable that the quality of medications provided by the Egyptian health insurance system matches that of counterparts sold in pharmacies. When asked, Dr Amr told Ahram Online that the same steps monitor the quality in both channels and are highly supervised.
• In Egypt, 1,000 inspectors monitor a total of 63,000 pharmacies nationwide.
• In Egypt, the pharmaceutical sector has been stable for decades, providing almost 86 percent of local consumption.
• Despite all problems, Egypt is classified internationally as having a highly regulated pharmaceutical market.
"To date, the EPVC has reviewed 6,739 adverse event reports and 893 drug safety reports, developed 389 drug risk management plans, held 50 training workshops for companies with a pharmaceutical marketing license and 311 training workshops for healthcare providers," Dr Saad said.
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