PSM Executive Director Headlines Brazil Counterfeit Medicines Forum

PSM Executive Director Scott LaGanga joined public and private sector leaders from across Brazil today to discuss the critical need to address the growing and borderless counterfeit medicines epidemic, an issue that Brazilian Justice Minister José Eduardo Cardozo called “one of the most important to Brazilian society.”

The event, hosted by Interfarma and O Globo, featured the Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics (IBOPE) release of a national opinion survey which found that more education is needed to ensure that consumers are informed of the dangers associated with counterfeit medicines.

According to the survey, nearly 30 percent of Brazilian consumers do not verify if a prescribed or over-the-counter medicine is still within its due date. More than half “ignore the security seal.”

“By no means is this issue getting any easier to address,” said Scott LaGanga. “To be effective in the long-term, we need global collaboration on the part of both government and the private sector. Only then can we put our best foot forward in protecting millions of patients from the life-threatening risks associated with counterfeit drugs.”

PSM Executive Director Scott LaGanga joined public and private sector leaders from across Brazil today to discuss the critical need to address the growing and borderless counterfeit medicines epidemic, an issue that Brazilian Justice Minister José Eduardo Cardozo called “one of the most important to Brazilian society.”

The event, hosted by Interfarma and O Globo, featured the Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics (IBOPE) release of a national opinion survey which found that more education is needed to ensure that consumers are informed of the dangers associated with counterfeit medicines.

According to the survey, nearly 30 percent of Brazilian consumers do not verify if a prescribed or over-the-counter medicine is still within its due date. More than half “ignore the security seal.”

“By no means is this issue getting any easier to address,” said Scott LaGanga. “To be effective in the long-term, we need global collaboration on the part of both government and the private sector. Only then can we put our best foot forward in protecting millions of patients from the life-threatening risks associated with counterfeit drugs.”

Other speakers included Edson Vismona, President of the Brazilian National Forum Against Piracy (FNCP), Dirceu Barbano, President of ANVISA, Humberto Costa, Brazil House Representative, and Paulo Abrão Pires Junior, president of the National Council to Combat Piracy and Crimes Against Intellectual Property.

Border enforcement, along with industry collaboration, is essential to addressing this challenge head on, Dirceu Barbano, President of Brazilian regulatory agency ANVISA told attendees.

More than 200 people from across Brazil attended the event.