The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) on Thursday launched a new initiative in Accra to prevent fake and counterfeit medicines from entering the Ghanaian supply chain.

Dubbed the Patients Research, Empowerment, Vigilance and Education through New Technologies (PREVENT), the initiative to be empowered by mPedigree Goldkeys platform and PopOut, both indigenous Ghanaian companies, would also improve vigilance, empower patients and educate the public.

Speaking at the launch, Mr James Ohemeng Kyei, President of PSGH said the Society is very much worried about reported cases of the sale and distribution of fake medicines in Ghana and other countries in the West Africa sub-region.

“In tackling this scourge in the country, the PSGH has engaged two technological partners to implement a system of anti-counterfeiting called ‘PREVENT’, which has two components namely, a social media strategy and a point of sale product authentication strategy,” he said.

He explained that, as a result of the partnership with mPedigree, a growing number of medicines made and marketed by members of the PSGH have been coded with unique identity codes covered with safe scratch-off ink.

He said, with the help of GoldKeys technology, patients can verify at the point of sale or dispensing, by scratching to reveal the hidden numbers and then text for free to short code 1393 on all networks to confirm if the medicine they have received are valid.

“This technology places the power of detecting counterfeit medicines in the hands of patients and consumers, and should over time contribute to the quality assurance process for medicines nationwide,” he said.

Mr Kyei said, with the PopOut technology, the PSGH would be using a combination of social media tools such as facebook, twitter, instagram, whatsapp, to engage a broad section of Ghanaians on the issue of counterfeit and sub-standard drugs, and how the lives of patients are adversely impacted by their trade and use by the unsuspecting public.

He said the PSGH would continue to collaborate with critical government regulatory bodies such as the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), civil society and private sector bodies to ensure a comprehensive response to the challenges confronting the nation and the pharmaceutical sector.

He urged members of the public to patronise the PREVENT initiative and others to be announced in due course.

In a speech read on his behalf, Mr Hudu Mogtari, Chief Executive Officer of FDA commended PSGH for its innovation to end the menace of fake medicines in the country.

He said the existence of free trade regime across the West Africa sub region has mostly resulted in the proliferation of fake medicines and called for adequate legislations to curb it.

In a speech read on his behalf, Dr Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah, Minister of Health said, the incidence of fake-medicines have resulted in thereupathic failures, organ damage, disabilities and death among patients, as well as destroying legitimate business.

He, therefore, expressed the hope that the PREVENT initiative by the PSGH would help provide solution to the menace of fake medicines on the market.