Unlicensed drugs from India fuelling opioid crisis in West Africa: Report

An Indian pharmaceutical company, Aveo Pharmaceuticals is reportedly manufacturing unlicensed and highly addictive opioids, which are illegally being exported to West Africa, precipitating a public health crisis.

A recent investigation by BBC Eye revealed that the drugs are being packaged to resemble legitimate medication, which actually contain harmful ingredients. These drugs are being sent to countries such a Ghana, Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire.

The Mumbai based pharmaceutical company produces an array of pills that are marketed under different brand names. These pills, according to the report, contain a dangerous combination of a potent opioid, tapentadol and carisoprodol. The latter is a muscle relaxant which is highly addictive.

This combination of drugs have serious side-effects such as difficulty breathing and seizures and an overdose can be fatal. The BBC investigation found packets of these drugs, branded with the Aveo logo, being sold openly in towns and cities across Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire.

An undercover investigation from the BBC went to Aveo’s factory, posing as a businessman seeking to supply opioids to Nigeria. Footage from the operations shows Vinod Sharma, one of the directors of Aveo, while acknowledging the harmful effects of the drugs, is promoting its sale.

Sharma can be heard saying, "This is very harmful for the health, nowadays, this is business."

As per the report Aveo Pharmaceuticals, along with a sister company called Westfin International, is shipping millions of these tablets to Ghana and other West African countries.

Nigeria is one of the biggest markets for these pills according to the report. Out of a population of 225 million people in the country, over four millions people using the opioid as per the Nigeria's National Bureau of Statistics.

Regulatory issues further aggravate the situation. In 2018, Nigerian authorities in a bid to curb the misuse of opioid painkiller tramadol, implemented strict regulations which included the ban on over-the-counter sales and limits on dosages. Simultaneously, India put in place strict regulations on the drug.

Aveo Pharmaceuticals following this crackdown shifted its focus to exporting a new combination pill made from tapentadol and carisoprodol, which is even more potent than tramadol.

The report states that in the Aveo factory there were a number of cartons with these combination of drugs. Sharma displayed multiple packets of the tapentadol-carisoprodol pills that the company markets under a range of names, including Tafrodol, TimaKing and Super Royal-225.

Sharma said that "scientists" working in his factory could combine different drugs to "make a new product", the report stated.

The report stated that Aveo is breaking Indian law as pharmaceutical companies cannot legally manufacture and export unlicensed drugs which do not meet the standards of the importing country.

Tarfrodol and other similar products being shipped by Aveo to Ghana is illegal as the combination of tapentadol and carisoprodil is unlicensed and illegal as per Ghana's national Drug Enforcement Agency.

India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has stated that it is working with West African countries to address these issues.