POST-COURIER (Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea) 06 May 08 Consumer watchdog bans sale of anti-snake venom
The Independent Consumer and Competition Commis-sion has stopped a major pharmacy in the country from selling a type of imported anti-venom.
The commission said the sale and distribution of the Indian made Haffkine Polyvalent (HP) anti-venom imported by City Pharmacy Limited (CPL) recently to Papua New Guinea was clinically not suitable for PNG consumption.
ICCC Commissioner Thomas Abe said in a statement, the commission held talks with CPL and agreed the anti-venom was not suitable for PNG consumers as the venoms of the snake species found in India were not the same as the snake species in PNG.
“It was agreed that City Pharmacy will cease the import and sale of the HP anti-venom in PNG,” Mr Abe stated.
Another officer with ICCC Joseph Kajitan said from information they had gathered, CPL imported five bottles of HP anti-venoms for a particular patient who had ordered them.
According to the officer, the patient did not claim the venoms from CPL.
“We (ICCC) really want to protect the interest of the consumers and make sure that all the medical goods and service they pay for are genuine,” Mr Kajitan said.
Attempts to reach Mr Sudhir Guru from CPL to ascertain for how long CPL had been distributing the venom in the country were unsuccessful.
The remaining anti-venom vials that have been imported were destroyed last month in the presence of ICCC officers.
The commission conducted the investigation after a doctor raised concerns through ABC news the anti-venoms distributed by CPL were not clinically suitable for PNG.
ICCC calls on the general public to report to them if they come across any retail shops selling the HP anti-venom.
Consumer watchdog bans sale of anti-snake venom