2019 Fake Drug Imports Case: High Court Exonerates Tobinco Pharmaceuticals

The Accra High Court has officially cleared Tobinco Pharmaceuticals Limited (TPL) and its Group Chairman, Elder Dr. Samuel Amo Tobbin, of all allegations made by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), which had accused the company of importing counterfeit drugs into Ghana. In a press release dated Sunday, August 11, 2024, Tobinco announced that the court, under the guidance of Her Ladyship Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, issued a ruling on July 29, 2024, affirming that the company had never engaged in the importation of fake drugs.

The legal battle between Tobinco and the FDA began on July 19, 2019, during the tenure of former FDA CEO Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni, with the pharmaceutical company accusing the FDA of abusing its statutory powers. Tobinco also noted that Dr. Opuni had specifically targeted the company between September and December 2013, falsely alleging that it was involved in importing counterfeit drugs. Tobinco revealed that in 2013, during a contentious crackdown, the FDA shut down its warehouses nationwide, causing significant public humiliation for the company and its Group Chairman.

The company also stated that the FDA went a step further by prohibiting Bliss GVS Pharma Limited, Tobinco's key business partner at the time, from exporting pharmaceuticals to Ghana, falsely labeling their products as counterfeit. This led to the seizure of Bliss GVS Pharma’s drugs from customers. The court has now ruled that the FDA acted unlawfully in preventing Tobinco from selling its products. Additionally, the court found that the FDA was wrong to ban Bliss GVS Pharma Limited from exporting drugs into Ghana without proper authorization from the Ministry of Health.