WHO just exacerbated the counterfeit drug problem

In late November, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a landmark report on the global counterfeit drug epidemic. Unfortunately, the WHO glossed over a major cause of the crisis — instability in the European Union’s drug supply chain — and actually gave the European Union cover by applauding its deeply flawed approach to combating counterfeit drugs. We need a better strategy to win the war on counterfeit drugs.

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$12M in Counterfeit Drugs Seized in Southeast Asia

View larger map An international police operation led to the seizure of $20M in counterfeit and illegal medicines, including antibiotics, anitimalarials, contraceptives, anti-tetanus vaccines, aspirin and drugs to treat erectile dysfunction. An estimated $12M were counterfeits with the remaining $8M found to be drugs that were “expired, diverted or unregistered.” Who: Medical Products Counterfeiting and…

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Creating Marketplaces Free from Counterfeit Drugs

On October 12, The Foundation Chirac, a long-time champion of access to safe medicines in African countries, is hosting a meeting in Cotonou, Benin, to discuss the counterfeit drugs that plague African citizens.

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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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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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The Real Impact of IMPACT

Counterfeit drugs are a global problem that requires an international solution. In fact, an international cooperative effort is already underway with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT).

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