Gov’t Adopts COA Mixture …After FDA Approval

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has given approval to the manufactures of indigenous herbal medicine, COA Mixture (formerly called COA FS) to be produced for the market as a medicine for general wellbeing.

Even before dust settles on the positive news, Deputy Minister for Health, Tina Mensah, announced in Accra on Tuesday that government is in high level talks to adopt the newly improved and approved COA Mixture as part of a set of herbal medicines that would be officially added to the country’s list of medicines that would be prescribed.

Tina Mensah said it was with a positive intention that the FDA recommended a set of regulatory measures for the manufacturer of COA to comply with during the early parts of this year. She gave an assurance of government’s continuous support to encourage growth of indigenous manufacturing companies including those in herbal medicine.

The Deputy Health Minister was speaking at the media unveiling of COA Mixture on Tuesday.

An elated Professor Samuel Ato Duncan, founder of the Center of Awareness Global Peace Mission, manufacturers of COA Mixture, said his outfit has collaborated beautifully with the FDA and currently, the country can boast of a state of the art modern factory that can be compared to the best of standard factories anywhere in the world.

He said the FDA should be applauded for adopting strict regulatory measures that has resulted in COA returning to the market now as an efficacious herbal medicine for general wellbeing.

“We have enjoyed our marriage with the FDA and we want to put on record that we are not in any form of misunderstanding whatsoever. The regulator was doing its work and we had to comply and work together to see the success story we are enjoying today. COA FS is back as COA Mixture and this time it is not just a food supplement but a herbal medicine that cures what the same COA FS was curing. The same ingredients in COA FS is what we find in COA Mixture”, Prof. Ato Duncan noted.

He said after the FDA directive that the product should be recalled from the open market and destroyed, the company actually invested over ten million cedes (GH¢10,000)  into upgrading its factory and giving it a facelift under the supervision of the FDA.

“Because safety and quality of our product is paramount and strict adherence to regulatory guidelines, we started working with the FDA to put all corrective measures in place to prevent future occurrences of possible contamination”, Prof. Ato Duncan revealed.

He disclosed that some of the preventive measures put in place include the formation of a new company, COA Research and Manufacturing Company to see to further and enhanced research and manufacturing on the products, the building of new structures to facelift the old factory to international standards and the purchasing and installation on new automated equipment to reduce human contact and to also improve quality.

In addition to the above measures, there was the meticulous training of staff and workers of COA by the FDA on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), there was also the installation of security structures to prevent possible contamination and the additional employment of both technical and non-technical staff to improve quality.

Prof. Duncan expressed gratitude to the FDA and its Chief Executive Mimi Darko as well as the Cape Coast Directorate of the FDA for their “selfless and immense contribution” that has led to the new success COA Mixture is currently enjoying.