Project Overview
A market of 180 million people. A product with great reviews in local media. However, the local agent for a Swiss manufacturer was importing far less than the numbers revealed in public contract information for supplies of this particular pharmaceutical product in Nigeria.
Sector
Pharmaceuticals
Background
A potential client was concerned about impropriety regarding the sale of its pharmaceutical products in Nigeria.
Reported in-country sales were in excess compared to export volumes recorded by the pharmaceutical company to the local agent in Nigeria.
Nothing else seemed amiss; there were positive reviews in local media and even an international donor organization-funded contract for the same product.
Process
Detailed investigation
Checks with the local drug regulatory authorities reported no complaints regarding the local agent or products they dealt in within the country. A random sampling of the pharmaceutical product from various outlets supplied by the local agent revealed no visible differences in packaging.
Checks with customs authorities however revealed a different story, the local agent was importing significant amount of products from a South Asian country. Further checks revealed that these products were a counterfeit version of the Swiss pharmaceutical product, with identical ingredients and forged packaging.