Long recognised as a forerunner in pharmaceutical manufacturing not only in Guyana but in the Caribbean, NEW GPC INC said it was cognisant of what seemed to be a determined ploy to malign and discredit the company as a manufacturer and pharmaceutical supplier.
The NEW GPC outlined this latest ‘ploy’ to discredit the company in a statement to the media on Tuesday.
On April 19, NEW GPC said it received a complaint from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) that there was an issue with paracetamol tablets which the company had supplied. This stock was imported from another manufacturer who, when contacted by NEW GPC to respond to the complaint, communicated that there were no anomalies observed in its retention samples. The company made it clear that these batches were earlier recalled and subsequently replaced.
Further, on April 25, another complaint was received from the GPHC regarding the replacement batches of paracetamol amounting to 186,000 units or 186 bottles.
The NEW GPC said it immediately requested the GPHC to quarantine the tablets and the company subsequently initiated a recall.
The complaint was investigated on the same day and a response was provided to the Georgetown Public Hospital indicating that testing and inspection were conducted on retention samples for each of the batches and they were all found to be in compliance with the US Pharmacopoeia’s acceptable criteria for microbiological quality. Testing and inspection were also carried out on the raw materials and no problems were found.
The NEW GPC said it has since supplied an additional 80,000 units of paracetamol to the Hospital from new batches manufactured at the NEW GPC.
“It should be noted that the Hospital also had an issue with Soda Lime supplied by NEW GPC and upon investigation, it was found that the same product was also supplied to a local private hospital in February. The local hospital when contacted indicated that they have no complaints with the Soda Lime, which was recently used last weekend,” the NEW GPC said.
The company said it wished to put on record that it has supplied pharmaceuticals manufactured locally and procured from reputable companies internationally to the Georgetown Hospital for decades without any major issue. “Suddenly, there are three complaints on three products from three different manufacturers within a matter of days,” the company observed.
The NEW GPC said it has also taken note that the Hospital has chosen to go to select media houses that have always been critical of the company with sensitive information which suggests a determined ploy to malign and discredit the company as a manufacturer and pharmaceutical supplier.
