African drug testing training

Scientists from the national laboratories of five African nations, including participants from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and Sierra Leone, have gathered in Accra, Ghana, Africa, to take part in technical training for detecting substandard and counterfeit medicines. The training is part of a technical assistance programme announced earlier this year and funded by the US Pharmacopeial Convention, a nonprofit public health organization that sets standards for the identity, quality, purity and strength of prescription and over-the-counter medicines.

Under the programme, the US organization is providing a comprehensive package of pharmaceutical reference standards, documentary standards and technical training to assist these countries in improving the quality of their medicines. The training focuses on three key topics necessary to appropriately test medicines quality — Fundamentals of High Performance Liquid Chromatography, Microbiology and Effectively Using USP–NF (the organization’s drug compendia).

“With inferior medicines threatening the lives of citizens every day in Africa, it is essential for governments to be equipped with the tools necessary to accurately gauge the quality of the medicines circulating in their markets” said Patrick Lukulay, director of the Promoting the Quality of Medicines Program. “Having a team of scientists trained in essential analytical techniques is a fundamental aspect of a well-functioning regulatory system that protects the domestic drug supply,”

This story originally appeared in The Column. Click here to view that issue.