Browsers look at expired medicines slated for destruction at Mingalar Market on August 11. Pic: Ni Ni Myint

A CEREMONY to destroy expired pharmaceuticals was held on August 11 on the top floor of Mingalar Market in Mingalar Taung Nyunt township in Yangon.

The expired drugs, were valued at a total of more than K3 million.

Dr Myat Thu Thu Winn, an official from the govern-ment’s Food and Drug Administration, said in a speech at the ceremony that retailers and wholesalers should refrain from distributing expired and unregistered medicines.

“Medicine sellers should care about public health and not just about their profits,” she said. “They should not sell unregistered drugs, counterfeit drugs or substandard drugs.”

“If we investigate such practices and find infractions, we will take action according to the law. So I would like to tell medicine sellers that they should only sell products that have been registered with the FDA,” she said.

Dr Myat Thu Thu Winn added that Mingalar Market was the main point from which drugs were distributed to the whole country, so vendors should be careful about what they sell.

“Unregistered drugs and expired medicines can have a negative impact on people’s lives,” she said.

Dr Saw Hla Htun, the vice chairman of the Social Welfare Committee at Mingalar Market, said medicine sellers should notify the committee when they notice the expiration date of their products is approaching.

“The committee will make sure such medicines get to places where they are required before they expire,” he said, adding that such a system had “many advantages”.

Dr Maung Maung Lay, the chairman of Myanmar Pharmaceutical and Medical Equipment Entrepreneurs Association, said the drug destruction ceremony was a monetary loss but was profitable in other ways.

“By destroying these medicines, Mingalar Market has sent a message that they do not sell expired products,” he said.

He also called for cooperation among the medicine importers, distributors, retailers and wholesalers.

“Companies should provide more information about products to doctors and the public. If everyone cooperates we will not have to destroy so many pharmaceuticals in the future,” Dr Maung Maung Lay said.

One vendor at Mingalar Market said expired drugs rarely get into the market in Myanmar.

“My shop never has expired medicines because we sell our products too fast,” he said. “But some bigger shops might accept expired drugs from a company if they are trying to introduce them into the market for the first time.”

Another vendor at Mingalar Market said medicines that pass the expiration date result in wasted money for the shop.

“Although we know a medicine is near its expiration date we can’t do anything. The company won’t take it back and we can’t sell it, so it gets thrown in the trash can,” he said.