New testing facility to target quality of drugs

All pharmaceutical drugs procured will be tested for quality at a proposed new drug-testing facility in Gordon, Port Moresby, Health and HIV/AIDS Minister Sir Puka Temu says.
Sir Puka told Parliament yesterday that all pharmaceutical drugs distributed in the country would be tested locally once the facility was commissioned.
“We will establish quality-checking for the first time in partnership with the University of Papua New Guinea to do periodical independent testing on all pharmaceutical drugs,” he said.
“Starting from next year, drug testing will become a norm to ensure the safety of our people,” he said.
Sir Puka also said that procurement and supplying of pharmaceutical drugs would only be done by pharmaceutical companies that had a WHO certificate to procure and supply.
“This is so that we can help protect our people right at the frontlines,” he said.
“So whether the procurement and supplying is done by an Indian company or a Chinese company, they will have to have the World Health Organisation certificate to procure and supply.”