The Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) has dismissed claims that 90 per cent of pharmacies in Nairobi are selling illegal drugs, saying a recent report that sparked concern among Kenyans misrepresented the findings of a study on parallel imported medicines.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

In a statement issued on Saturday, July 4, the regulator took issue with a Daily Nation article titled ' 90% of Nairobi Pharmacies Found Selling Illegal Drugs', arguing that the headline created the impression that the medicines assessed were illegal, substandard or unsafe for use.

According to the Board, the study, which was conducted between September 2023 and October 2024, reflected the regulatory environment that existed during that period and did not conclude that the medicines posed a danger to patients.

"The medicinal products assessed in the study were approved under this regulatory framework, manufactured by the original manufacturers in compliance with internationally recognised Good Manufacturing Practice standards, and were not found to be substandard, falsified or unsafe for patient use," the Board said.

📌 What You Need to Know

The regulator explained that parallel importation is a legal mechanism provided for under the Pharmacy and Poisons (Parallel Imported Medicinal Substances) Rules, 2019, to improve the availability and affordability of medicines in Kenya.

It further revealed that after introducing the framework and improving access to medicines, it implemented additional regulatory reforms and has not approved any new applications for parallel imported medicinal products since October 2025 .

The clarification followed a study published in a French pharmaceutical journal by researchers Valérie Faillat and Epaphrodite Twahirwa of Mount Kenya University, which found that 90 per cent of retail pharmaceutical outlets surveyed across Nairobi stocked at least one unauthorised parallel-imported medicine.

Researchers visited 2,348 pharmaceutical outlets between September 2023 and October 2024 and identified 22 parallel-imported medicines, most of which were used to treat chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, urinary disorders and mental health illnesses.

The study found widespread regulatory non-compliance, reporting that most of the medicines had packaging written entirely in foreign languages, lacked key labelling information and, in some cases, carried storage instructions intended for cooler European climates rather than Kenya's tropical conditions.

It also questioned the justification for importing many of the medicines, noting that most were already off-patent and available locally as affordable generic alternatives, with nearly half of the imported products offering no meaningful price advantage.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke