The Pharmacy and Poisons Board has rejected claims that most pharmacies in Nairobi sell illegal drugs. It says a recent study was misrepresented in media reports.
The Pharmacy and Poisons Board issued a statement on July 4 dismissing a Daily Nation article. The piece had suggested that 90 per cent of Nairobi pharmacies sell illegal drugs based on a study of parallel imported medicines.
The regulator clarified that the study, conducted from September 2023 to October 2024, examined approved medicines. It found no evidence that the products were substandard, falsified or unsafe.
Parallel importation remains legal under 2019 rules to improve medicine access. The board stopped approving new parallel imports after October 2025.
Researchers from Mount Kenya University surveyed 2,348 outlets and identified 22 such medicines, mainly for chronic conditions. Some had foreign-language packaging and labels suited to European climates.