PCN closes 471 pharmaceutical, patent medicine shops in Edo

By Ozioruva Aliu

BENIN CITY – THE Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) yesterday said it has closed down 471 pharmaceutical and patent medicine stores for breaching pharmaceutical signifier regulations successful parts of Edo State.

Addressing a property league aft its one-week cognition successful the Edo South Senatorial District and besides to people World Pharmacists Day, Registrar of PCN, Ibrahim Babashehu Ahmed, said the PCN would proceed to entrench its cardinal absorption of Practice, Premises and Personnel successful pharmaceutical signifier successful the country.

Represented by the Head of Enforcement PCN, Dr. Suleiman Chiroma, the PCN brag said the closures were carried retired successful Oredo, Ikpoba-Okha, Ovia North-East, Egor and Uhunmwonde section authorities areas successful Edo South.

According to him, “A full of 743 premises, comprising 196 pharmacies and 547 patent medicine stores, were inspected. One idiosyncratic was arrested for obstructing PCN inspectors successful the discharge of their duties.

“Consequently, a full of 471 premises were sealed for contravening applicable regulations, including 77 pharmacies, 174 patent medicine stores, and 220 unlicensed shops. Furthermore, 4 premises were served with compliance directives, necessitating corrective actions to code identified non-compliances.”

He said during the enforcement exercise, assorted regulatory breaches including cognition of unlicensed premises, non-compliance with premises registration renewal requirements, unauthorised objective practice, unauthorised entree to controlled substances, stockholding much than approved limits arsenic stipulated successful the Patent Medicine List, grooming of apprentices, and wholesalers indulging successful retail operations successful contravention of their licensure presumption were noticed.

He said “The enforcement of the National Drug Distribution Guidelines is simply a statutory work entrusted to the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, aimed astatine ensuring the availability of harmless and efficacious medicines nationwide.

“The pharmaceutical assemblage successful Nigeria has been bedeviled by galore challenges, including chaotic cause organisation networks, proliferation of unlicensed and amerciable pharmaceutical premises, and unauthorized handling of medicinal products, thereby necessitating stringent regulatory measures.

“Key areas of accent include, ensuring compliance with established codes of behaviour and nonrecreational standards, the attraction of controlled environments to safeguard the prime and potency of medicinal products and assessing the competency levels of unit progressive successful pharmaceutical signifier to guarantee they conscionable the required standards.

“The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) advises the radical successful Edo State and beyond to workout caution erstwhile sourcing medicines, ensuring they patronise licensed and qualified premises to debar imaginable wellness risks.”

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