English 
Francais 
عربي 
HIV/AIDS – the Dutch authorities seize… generic drugs
A shipment of generic antiretroviral drugs funded by UNITAID and destined for Nigeria has been held by the customs authorities in Amsterdam! Dutch customs officers seized no fewer than 49 kilos of abacavir sulphate being shipped via the capital’s airport. According to the authorities, these goods were counterfeit.
“This is not true”, retorted the Nigerian government, the Clinton Foundation and UNITAID. “We are seriously concerned for patients who are urgently in need of this medication, UNITAID wrote on its website. These are not counterfeit drugs but second line antiretrovirals pre-approved by the WHO. We urge the Dutch government to release these drugs as soon as possible.”
Produced by the Indian generic manufacturer Aurobindo Pharma, these antiretrovirals were in fact refused transit because the customs didn’t take the trouble to consult the regularly updated list of WHO pre-approved generics.
This potentially tragic mishap affecting hundreds of thousands of sufferers illustrates the lack of readability that prevails where the circulation of medicines is concerned...
Print this article
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Send to a friend
Convert to pdf
Copyright Authorization
22 article(s)
Infection with HIV increases the risk of cancer
Combating HIV : treating safely and for the long term
Could general screening for HIV be the best way to save poor countries?
HIV/AIDS : are we heading towards the preventive use of antiretrovirals?
HIV/AIDS organisations still actively lobbying for lower drug prices
AIDS, TB and malaria : emerging countries must contribute to the effort to combat these diseases!
AIDS is not in recession : efforts must be maintained
AIDS: the battle of the reservoirs continues!
In Cape Town, HIV/AIDS takes centre stage… for 4 days… or longer ?
1 feature(s)
