Posts by psm2016
Jackson G, Arver S, Banks I, Stecher VJ. Counterfeit phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors pose significant safety risks. Int J Clin Pract. 2010;64(4):497-504.
Counterfeit drugs are inherently dangerous and a growing problem; counterfeiters are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Growth of the counterfeit medication market is attributable in part to phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE5i) medications for erectile dysfunction (ED). Millions of counterfeit PDE5is are seized yearly and account for the bulk of all counterfeit pharmaceutical product seizures. It has…
[...]Kubic TT.* Law Enforcement and Industry: Key Partners for Safe Medicines. J Biolaw Bus. 2010;13(1&2):38-41.
Counterfeit and diverted medicines are a key public health concern. Developing as well as developed countries are experiencing increases in patient safety risks due to these illicit drug forms. Public-private coordination between industry stakeholders and law enforcement can address the developments and trends in the counterfeit and diverted drug arena. In this piece, one such…
[...]Liang BA.* International Drug Production and Supply: Challenges for Biopreparedness. J Biolaw Bus. 2010;12(3): 31- 34.
Biopreparedness uniquely relies upon drugs. However, the globalization of drug manufacturing and supply has created challenges to ensuring open and available access to these products. The heparin case illustrates the challenges of offshore and onshore efforts to secure the drugs necessary to address naturally-occuring and human-sourced biological agents. Economic incentives, international diplomacy, and alternative sourcing…
[...]Liang BA.* Supporting Pharmaceutical Diversion and Counterfeiting Prosecutions: A Role for Medical Professionals. J Biolaw Bus. 2010;13(1&2): 55-57.
Law enforcement efforts to prosecute pharmaceutical diversion and counterfeiting have begun to emerge as an important deterrent. By enlisting health care providers, the team of law and medical professionals can ensure that the full extent of harms is known to the court, and conviction results in appropriate penalties for this particularly atrocious crime.
[...]European Coding System Looks to Combat Counterfeits: Part Two
This is the conclusion of our interview with Anthony Barron, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations’ (EFPIA) coding and identification project coordinator, who spoke with us about a tracking pilot project currently underway in Sweden aimed at reducing the risk of counterfeit drugs dispensed to patients. Read part one of the interview. PSM:…
[...]European Coding System Looks to Combat Counterfeits: Part One
In October 2009, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) announced its pilot project—a coding system aimed at reducing the risk of counterfeit drugs dispensed to patients. The project entails the use of a small barcode to verify individual packs of medicine, aiming for an end-to-end tracking, which allows the pack to be…
[...]Who is PharmacyChecker? Checking the Facts on PharmacyChecker.com
Who is PharmacyChecker.com? PharmacyChecker is a company that provided online pharmacy certification services for the major search engines until 2010. Why did the search engines stop using PharmacyChecker’s services? None of the search engines gave a public reason for ending their relationship with PharmacyChecker. Several experts in the field, including our own Bryan Liang, criticized…
[...]International Consortium Tackles Global Counterfeit Problem: Part Two
Last week, we brought you part one of our interview with Martin VanTrieste, vice president of quality assurance at Amgen, a biotechnology company, and the co-founder of Rx-360, a global consortium formed to address weaknesses in the pharmaceutical supply chain. Now we bring you the conclusion of our interview. PSM: It might surprise some that…
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International Consortium Tackles Global Counterfeit Problem:
Part One
From drug manufacturing to delivery, weaknesses in the pharmaceutical supply chain have been long documented—and introduce opportunities for substandard and counterfeit medications to be passed along to consumers. To mitigate this global threat, a group of companies and associations from all facets of the pharmaceutical industry have teamed up to form Rx-360, an international consortium…
[...]Erdem E, Zeng H, Zhou J, Shi J, Wells DL. Investigation of RFID tag readability for pharmaceutical products at item level. Drug Dev Ind Pharm. 2009;35(11):1312-24.
BACKGROUND: The applications of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology carry a tremendous potential for pharmaceutical industry. There is a pressing need to analyze the performance of RFID tags attached to various pharmaceutical dosage forms. METHOD: The readability of RFID-tagged pharmaceutical products is, for the first time, systematically investigated by experiments. Factors considered include dosage forms,…
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