In September last year, Rwanda received some 7million pills to treat about 20,000 patients over a period of a year. The medicines were then seen as some of the best available on the market because of their small dosage.
However, a nation-wide study on the pills is scheduled to take place in early August after a patient-survey at a clinic in Kigali revealed some patients missed doses of the treatment due its taste.
Twenty-five patients were part of the survey at the clinic at TRAC Plus, the national centre for infectious diseases control and prevention.
Five patients said they missed doses because of the taste, with eight people saying the pill was too bitter, said Dr. Jean d’Amour Ndahimana of the Care and Treatment Department at TRAC Plus.
The survey was conducted because patients began complaining about the taste of the three-in-one pill. Patients said Apo-TriAvir is very bitter compared to Duovir-N, the HIV/AIDS therapy Apo-TriAvir replaced, said Ndahimana.
Both drugs have the same make-up, containing the antiretroviral drugs zidovudine, lamivudine and nevirapine.
“For me as a physician,” said Ndahimana, “it is not good when a patient misses his doses.”
When the issue arose, Ndahimana said CAMERWA, the pharmaceutical distributor in Rwanda, was contacted and the decision was made to conduct a cross-country study to see if there are complaints at other sites.
The national study should be completed in four weeks, said Ladislas Bizimana,
H
IV Commodities Supply Chain Analyst at TRAC Plus. The study will survey about 10 sites across Rwanda, but further details about how the study will be conducted and exact locations are being confirmed, Bizimana told RNA.
The field work will take about two weeks, followed by a week to evaluate the results.
Canadian generic drug-maker ApoTex Inc., sent the seven million tablets under the Canadian Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR) guidelines after it bid and received a tender from the Rwandan Government.
The CAMR process ensures generic versions of patented drugs meet the same health and safety standards as products sold in Canada. The generic versions can then be sold at a reduced price to poorer nations, while ensuring quality. But the CAMR process has been criticized for being too complicated, deterring pharmaceutical companies from using it.
A second shipment of the same HIV/AIDS therapy from ApoTex is due to arrive in Rwanda this September.