Pfizer, the world’s foremost pioneering biopharmaceutical company, has restated the imperative for collaborative efforts within the industry to raise awareness about the perils associated with counterfeit pharmaceuticals and medicinal products within Nigeria.
Pharmacist Olayinka Subair, the Country Manager and Cluster Lead for West Africa, reiterated this call during a courtesy visit by Prof. Cyril Usifoh, the President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), to Pfizer’s Nigerian office.
Subair emphasized that the threat posed by counterfeit products remains persistent and intractable. He further explained that Pfizer is actively seeking partnerships with various stakeholders to jointly undertake initiatives aimed at educating consumers about counterfeit drugs. The primary goal is to empower patients with knowledge that will safeguard their health against the deceitful actions of counterfeiters.
“Counterfeit medicines often miss key ingredients and dosages or contain added, harmful ingredients. As a result, patients who take counterfeit medicines, including life-saving medicines for cancer and heart disease, lose the therapeutic benefits they rely on to treat their conditions. To tackle the threat of counterfeit medicines to patient health, Pfizer is collaborating with industry stakeholders to ensure patients have the information they need to avoid counterfeit medicines.
“Pfizer is seeking collaboration with government agencies, pharmaceutical organizations, doctors, pharmacists, and industry partners to help raise awareness of the growing problem of counterfeit medicines. Together, we seek to tackle this threat to patient health by stopping counterfeits before they reach patients, giving consumers the information they need to make the right choices, and supporting health care providers in our communities,” he assured.
Earlier speaking, PSN President, Cyril Usifoh, averred that PSN as a body, seeks to maintain a high standard of professional ethics and discipline among its members and would give all the support to work together with Pfizer, adding that, “We would see how we can amplify by reaching out to stakeholders and see how far we can go in driving this campaign successfully.”
