The Pharmaceutical Society of Zambia (PSZ) on Wednesday recalled the expired drugs that were recently supplied to public hospitals in the country.
PSZ president, Jerome Kanyika, in a letter addressed to Honey Bee Pharmacy- the firm that supplied the drugs – said that analysis of the drugs at the National Drug Quality Control Laboratory found them out of specification.
At the time Honey Bee was awarded the contract for the supply of the healthkits, the company was not registed with Zambia’s Patent And Company Registration Agency (PACRA).
The regulator had last week, in a statement, said its investigations revealed that the health kits supplied by Honey Bee – on behalf of the government – contained expired drugs.
The health kits – that contained mainly Paracetamol – were said to have cost the ministry of health $17m.
Most of the drugs, according to PSZ, have changed colours and smelled aweful, showing they were not suitable for human consumption.
Now, the PSZ has called on Honey Bee to initiate the process of recalling the consignment.
The regulator has also ordered the company to submit a reporting process, which should include the quantity of the products imported and the quantity collected from various health facilities.
Mr Kanyika explains that PSZ is concerned because the drugs have been distributed countrywide.
Zambia’s ministry of health spokesperson, Dr. Abel Kabalo, however, denied the drugs were expired.
According to him, the latest expiry date on most of the medication is 2022.