Investigation Unearths Indian Pharmaceutical Company's Role in Opioid Crisis
Aveo Pharmaceuticals, an Indian-based company, has been discovered to produce unlicensed, highly addictive opioids that are then illegally exported to West Africa. This activity has significantly contributed to the ongoing public health crisis in countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, and Cote D'Ivoire. The company, headquartered in Mumbai, manufactures various pills that are branded differently but all contain the same hazardous combination of tapentadol, a potent opioid, and carisoprodol, a highly addictive muscle relaxant banned in Europe.
The illicit blend of these drugs has never been approved for use anywhere globally due to potential side effects including breathing problems, seizures, and lethal overdoses. Despite these risks, these opioids are widely used as street drugs in multiple West African countries due to their affordability and availability.
A covert investigation traced these drugs back to Aveo's factory in India. A hidden-camera operation captured one of Aveo's directors, Vinod Sharma, showcasing the same harmful products found for sale across West Africa.
During the confidentially filmed interaction, Sharma was informed that the pills would be sold to teenagers in Nigeria. He was unfazed and even detailed the potential for users to get high from the drugs. Sharma acknowledged the products' health risks, but justified it as a business necessity.
This booming business detrimentally impacts the health and potential of millions of young West Africans. In Ghana's city of Tamale, a voluntary task force was established to combat the growing drug issue. Their mission is to seize these drugs from dealers and remove them from the streets.
Aveo's products are not only wreaking havoc in Tamale. Similar products have been seized by police elsewhere in Ghana. The drugs are also available on the streets of Nigeria and Cote D'Ivoire, where teenagers dissolve them in alcoholic energy drinks to amplify the high.
Available export data indicates that Aveo Pharmaceuticals and a partner company, Westfin International, are shipping millions of these tablets to Ghana and other West African countries. Nigeria, with its population of 225 million, offers the largest market for these pills. Approximately four million Nigerians reportedly misuse some form of opioid.
In the wake of a 2018 investigation, Nigerian authorities attempted to control the rampant abuse of an opioid painkiller called tramadol. However, Aveo Pharmaceuticals began exporting a new pill consisting of an even stronger opioid, tapentadol, mixed with carisoprodol, after the crackdown.
West African officials warn that these new combination pills may be replacing tramadol to avoid regulatory detection. Sharma revealed to investigators that his company's "scientists" could create a new product by combining different drugs.
Despite the dangers associated with this concoction, Aveo continues to export these products unlawfully to West African countries. By doing so, the company is violating India's laws, which prohibit the manufacture and export of unlicensed drugs unless they meet the importing country's standards.
These allegations were presented to Vinod Sharma and Aveo Pharmaceuticals, but they did not respond. The Indian drug regulator, the CDSCO, reiterated the government's commitment to a responsible and robust pharmaceutical regulatory system and pledged immediate action against any pharmaceutical company involved in malpractice.
Unfortunately, Aveo is not the only Indian company involved in producing and exporting unlicensed opioids. Other pharmaceutical companies manufacture similar products, damaging the reputation of India's growing pharmaceutical industry.
The anonymous investigator who met with Sharma expressed his shock at the director's lack of concern for the harm caused by his products. As he put it, Sharma seemed to see it as merely "business."
Meanwhile, in Tamale, Ghana, a local task force continued its raids, seizing more of Aveo's illicit product, Tafrodol. They publically burned the seized drugs as a warning to those involved in the trade. Despite their efforts, millions more of these destructive pills continue to be produced in India, fueling an industry that thrives on human suffering.