Nearly 20% of cancer drugs defective in 4 African nations

Summary

An alarming number of people across Africa may be taking cancer drugs that don't contain the vital ingredients needed to contain or reduce their disease. It's a concerning finding with roots in a complex problem: how to regulate a range of therapeutics across the continent. A US and pan-African research group published the findings this week in The Lancet Global Health. The researchers had collected dosage information, sometimes covertly, from a dozen hospitals and 25 pharmacies across Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi and Cameroon. They tested nearly 200 unique products across several brands. Around 17% — roughly one in six — were found to have incorrect active ingredient levels, including products used in major hospitals. Patients who receive insufficient dosages of these ingredients could see their tumors keep growing, and possibly even spread. Similar numbers of substandard antibiotics, antimalarial and tuberculosis drugs have been reported in the past, but this is the first time that such a study has found high levels of falsified or defective anticancer drugs in circulation. "I was not surprised by these results," said Lutz Heide, a pharmacist at the University of Tübingen in Germany who has previously worked for the Somali Health Ministry and has spent the past decade researching substandard and falsified medicines. Heide was not part of the investigative group, but said the report shed light on a problem not previously measured. "I was delighted that, finally, someone published such a systemic report," he said. "That is a first, really significant systematic study of this area." Causes need addressing, but it's not straightforward "There are many possible causes for bad-quality products," Marya Lieberman of the University of Notre Dame in the US, the investigation's senior researcher, told DW. Those causes can include faults in the manufacturing process or product decay due to poor storage conditions. But some drugs are also counterfeit, and that increases the risk of...