Inside the World of Counterfeit Drugs

Part 2: The European Repackaging Debate – Last week we witnessed the confusing practice of repackaging of prescription medicines within the European Union (EU) through the eyes of a fictitious Dutch patient picking up his blood pressure tablets at a city retail pharmacy. The patient’s experience is shared by millions of Europeans living in Germany, Great Britain, and Holland among other countries. Under current EU rules, medicines can be re-boxed or re-labeled after they leave the site of production, and tablets can be removed from their blisters and reconditioned. Counterfeiters can exploit this fact in order to sneak their fake goods past regulators. One of the prime sources of counterfeit medicines, which can enter the drug supply at the point of repackaging, is the Internet.

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Pfizer UK “RealDanger” campaign

In January 2009, Pfizer in the UK produced a pretty commercial to get people to pay attention to the dangers of counterfeit drugs. Visit their website at RealDanger.co.uk or click on the still image at right to see the video.

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Inside the World of Counterfeit Drugs

Part 1: Your critical role in safe medicines — In recent blog entries, the Partnership for Safe Medicines’ (PSM) experts have warned consumers and pharmacists of the dangers that counterfeit drugs pose, recapped legislation surrounding these issues and highlighting incidents of counterfeit drugs from across the world. However, this month we have invited guest blogger Gregory Zec to share his thoughts on some current drug safety issues. This week, Gregory uses a fictional consumer’s experiences (which he based on real patients’ stories) to explore the confusion many patients encounter from when they receive repackaged, imported prescription drugs from a legitimate pharmacy.

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Dangerous Assumptions Drawn From List of Permitted Countries

Periodically proposals are floated both in Washington, DC and state capitols that would allow Americans to import drugs from 32 “permitted” countries – Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and the 27 members of the European Union. There is a perception that these countries have “safe” drug supplies insulated from the dangers that every other nation in the world.

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Warning for Counterfeit Insulin Pens

Health Care Inspectorate Warns of Counterfeit Insulin Needles Products counterfeited: Insulin needles Lot numbers: 08J02S Countries known affected: Netherlands, UK, Poland Investigating agency contact: Inspectie Voor de Gezondheidszorg Manufacturers information: Novo Nordisk Posted on/updated: July 2009 View Larger Map The Netherlands Health Care Inspectorate [Inspectie voor de Gezondheidszorg (IGZ)] has issued a public warning following…

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