Anti-venom racket under microscope

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
TWO pharmaceutical companies and a medical doctor are now under investigation for allegedly stealing anti-venom (snakebite) drugs from the Health Department and selling them to hospitals throughout the country.
National fraud and anti-corruption (NF&ACU) director Chief Supt Mathew Damaru said last Friday that these pharmaceutical companies (named) and the doctor (named) were being probed for allegedly selling the stolen drugs to rural aid posts in Milne Bay province and the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) for about K9,000 per vial.
Sources told The National that in almost every instance when there had been an anti-venom shortage, there had been PNG doctors and wholesale drug suppliers jumping in quickly with offers to supply anti-venom at prices of up to K9,000 per vial.
Currently, a vial of anti-venom costs K4,500 and the Health Department orders about 300 of these drugs annually.
“Recently, a doctor attempted to sell several vials of anti-venom to the Emergency Department of PMGH,” the source said.
“These vials were seized by hospital officials and the matter was passed on to the NF&ACU. All of the vials had batch numbers indicating that they were in fact, stock items already bought and paid for by the National Department of Health.
“Two drug wholesalers have also been referred to the NF&ACU for selling anti-venoms stolen from the Health Department to rural aid posts in Milne Bay province.”
Earlier, snakebite research project officer David Williams said that hospitals throughout the country were running out of anti-venom drugs to treat snake bite patients.
He said snakebites were common between December and April because of the rainy season and many of the victims might die due to shortages of anti-venom.
PNG Medical Board chairman Igo Paru said there was no shortage of anti-venom as there were 100 polyvalent drugs now in stock to be distributed to hospitals throughout the country to treat snake bite patients.