Counterfeit drugs are a scourge that spans continents and patients everywhere. Sadly however, some of the most vulnerable countries such as Kenya have been deeply impacted by the problem. The World Health Organization reports that a survey performed by the National Quality Control Laboratories and the Pharmacy and Poisons Board found that almost 30 percent of drugs in Kenya are counterfeit, harming thousands of patients and representing a tremendous public health problem. In addition, a 2006 estimate indicates that counterfeit drug sales account for approximately $130 million annually in sales. Importantly, these fakes are believed to contribute to at least 200,000 of the 2.7 million deaths caused by malaria each year in Africa.
Counterfeit drugs are a rampant threat that easily cross boarders and target innocent people. You can learn about this threat by visiting the Pharmaceutical Security Institute. But how can you protect yourself from contaminated or counterfeit drugs finding their way into your medicine cabinet?
Signed into law last week, the PRO-IP Act is the most comprehensive IP enforcement legislation adopted by Congress in years. Not only does it increase the penalties for counterfeiting offenses that endanger public health and safety, it provides much-needed resources to at federal, state and local law enforcement levels. Additionally, the law creates the position…
Four infants are dead and more than 54,000 children in China have suffered from kidney stones and kidney failure this past year as a result of baby formula and powdered milk tainted with melamine, an industrial chemical used to make plastics, glue and is found in pesticides. The toxin found its way into the milk products from more than 30 Chinese companies because of its ability to make the milk appear high in protein.
Currently, the United States has one of the safest drug supplies in the world because its pharmaceutical supply system is “closed” to importation. Once a drug is outside the strictly regulated distribution channel, there is no guarantee of its authenticity, effectiveness, or safety. We know from the recent incident in China of the deliberately contaminated…
Ghanaians have been urged to exercise their civic responsibility by buying drugs at the right places to avoid more deadly incidents by traders in counterfeit products. The World Health Organisation (WHO), estimates that more than 30% of drugs could lead to the horrid healthcare crises that fake drugs often unleash. The rate of fake drugs…
The counterfeit drugs are a global dilemma touching all countries, including the United States. However, in some areas of Africa, up to 30 percent of the medicines for sale are counterfeit drugs.
The Food and Drugs Board, FDB, is considering the introduction of a new technology that will detect fake drug products from genuine ones. The technology will indicate codes on the products which will be verified later from the manufacturers. The Acting Deputy Chief Executive of the Board, Rev. Jonathan Martey, announced this in Accra at…
Partnership for Safe Medicines shares expertise with leaders to combat contraband and counterfeit drugs.
ACCRA, Ghana (Sept. 9, 2008) – To combat the increasing amounts of contraband and counterfeit drugs threatening public health, West African government officials, business leaders, and non-profit organizations gathered today for the Stakeholder Forum on Safe Medicines in Accra, Ghana. The Partnership for Safe Medicines, a coalition of organizations and individuals dedicated to protecting consumers from counterfeit medicines, helped lead a discussion about how the region can work together to address this important health problem.
Here at the Partnership for Safe Medicines, one of our core principles for drug safety is the need to unify in the fight against counterfeit drugs. This week, we saw progress.