Cambodia: Fighting counterfeit medicines with TV spots and Minilabs

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) launched a series of public service announcements on counterfeit medicines in Phnom Penh last week. First broadcast on national television in Cambodia subsequent translations into other languages will help also to spread the word throughout all countries of the Greater Mekong region.…

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Tylenol® Arthritis and Tylenol® PM Caplets Stolen from Cargo Terminal in Jacksonville, Florida

Products stolen: TYLENOL® Arthritis and TYLENOL® PM Lot numbers: 09XMC1 (Tylenol Arthritis) 09XMC110 (Tylenol PM) Countries known affected: United States Investigating agency contact: FDA Office of Criminal Investigations at 1-800-551-3989 Manufacturer Contact McNeils Customer Response Center 888-222-6036 Posted on/updated: October 13, 2009 Information on Certain Stolen Tylenol® Arthritis and Tylenol® PM Caplets FDA is alerting…

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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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Counterfeit Drug Aftermath Still Plagues Panama

In 2006, 116 people were confirmed dead in Panama after the government distributed cough syrup, antihistamine tablets, calamine lotion and rash ointment that was unknowingly made with counterfeit glycerin, a sweetener and thickening agent commonly used in medication. The Panamanian government believed they were receiving 99.5 percent pure glycerin from a Spanish distribution company. In reality, what they bought was diethylene glycol, the poisonous chemical commonly found in antifreeze and brake fluid, which the original Chinese manufacturer passed off as glycerin.

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Hargreaves MD, Macleod NA, Smith MR, Andrews D, Hammond SV, Matousek P. Characterisation of transmission Raman spectroscopy for rapid quantitative analysis of intact multi -component pharmceuticals capsules. J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2011;54(3):463-8.

A detailed characterisation of the performance of transmission Raman spectroscopy was performed from the standpoint of rapid quantitative analysis of pharmaceutical capsules using production relevant formulations comprising of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and 3 common pharmaceutical excipients. This research builds on our earlier studies that identified the unique benefits of transmission Raman spectroscopy compared to…

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Internet Search Engines Promote Illegal Online Pharmacies

The Partnership for Safe Medicines, a group of organizations and individuals dedicated to protecting consumers from counterfeit medicines, issued the following statement regarding recent reports released by LegitScript, an online pharmacy verification service, and KnujOn,an Internet compliance company, which found that 80 to 90 percent of search engine-sponsored advertisements of online drug pharmacies violate federal and state laws, including selling substandard or counterfeit drugs to unsuspecting consumers.

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India Takes First Steps to Address Counterfeit Drug Makers

The Indian government has finally improved their laws to address this important public health issue. While these new laws took five years before enactment, on August 10, India’s Ministry for Health & Family Welfare began enforcing the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Act of 2008.

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Did You Ever Wonder Why People Buy Counterfeit Drugs?

Last month, the Wall Street Journal featured an article that discussed the efforts currently underway to deter people from buying counterfeit products. It pointed out that many anti-counterfeiting messages fail to address the underlying motivation which leads people to buy counterfeit products.

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