Pharmacists, under the aegis of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, have rejected the Mobile Authentication System used to identify fake medicines in the country.

The Lagos ACPN Chairman, Mr. Adeyinka Aminu, who spoke at the Annual General Meeting of the association, expressed reservations about the effectiveness of the newly inaugurated MAS and described the technology as “unscientific”.

 He said, “We are having challenges with the Mobile Authentication System of some drugs, especially anti-malarials and antibiotics used in the country. There is no science in waiting for a text message to confirm that a product is genuine or fake. They should let us argue the scientific basis for the use of this technology.

“We have had cases were medicines that were purchased directly from the companies were said to be fake when customers used the text message system. Then which one is genuine? Also, the telecommunication network in the country is very poor.

“Many times, customers are waiting for SMS to confirm the status of a drug and it does not come, the pharmacist and the pharmacy become suspects. It is embarrassing us. This device is not the one that can determine whether a drug is genuine or not.”

The MAS allows individuals with mobile phones to check whether a drug is fake or original without direct contact with the manufacturer. NAFDAC inaugurated it in response to the increasing rate of fake drugs sold in the country.

He also raised the alarm over increasing illegal pharmacies in Lagos and its environs and warned Lagos residents not to patronise such stores.

Aminu said, “Many of the pharmacies are not registered with us and they are selling substandard and fake medicines to the public. These illegal operators are so many; they spring up every day because when there is demand for adrug, there must be supply even when it is fake one. We want Lagosians to know that it is dangerous to buy drugs from persons who have no knowledge on such medicines.”