By Hammed Shittu in Ilorin
An indigenous pharmaceuticals company, Bioraj Pharmaceuticals, in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, Thursday disclosed that the company has placed embargo on sales of Violin cough syrup with codeine.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr. Bioku Rahamon, disclosed this to journalists in Ilorin following the recent ban placed on the selling and taking of codeine cough syrup by the federal government.
He said that the company does not have control on sales and distribution of any products.
Recently, there was an investigative report by the British Broadcasting Corporations (BBC) where it secretly filmed one Baba Ibeji, an alleged official of Bioraj Pharmaceuticals engaging in illegal sale of cough syrup.
The pharmaceutical firm is a licensed medical producer which manufactures a codeine cough syrup called Biolin.
But Rahamon stated that: “The revelation of the BBC is an eye opener and the company is taking it with all seriousness.
“We do not sell codeine containing preparation to an unauthorised person or premises.”
The Bioraj MD also explained that none of the sales representative has the authority to supply Biolin with codeine.
Rahamon stated that the sales official who spoke in the video recorded by the BBC had been suspended from Bioraj since May 2016.
He also said that the store man who was also shown in the video clip is a serving member of staff of Bioraj Pharmaceuticals.
He added that the affected store man if found guilty would be eventually sacked from the company.
The company, he said, will comply with the federal government directives to ban the importation of codeine phosphate as active pharmaceutical ingredient for cough preparation.
