Counterfeit Medicines - A Growing Health Threat

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Counterfeit Medicines - A Growing Health Threat

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=37819

The World Health Organization (WHO) calls for immediate concrete

action against the growing epidemic of counterfeit medicines. In a

bid to accelerate the war on fake drugs, the agency will push for

stronger global cooperation, political commitment and creative

solutions at a meeting in Rome from 16 to 18 February.

WHO aims to create a global task force involving all major interested

parties. The task force will focus on legislation and law

enforcement, trade, risk communications and innovative technology

solutions, including public-private initiatives for applying new

technologies to the detection of counterfeits and technology transfer

to developing countries.

The counterfeiting of medicines is present in all countries and is

thought to represent 10% of the global medicines trade. Particularly

insidious, counterfeit medicines dupe sick people into believing they

are taking something which will make them well, when it may instead

make them sicker or even kill them.

" People don't die from carrying a fake handbag or wearing a fake t-

shirt. They can die from taking a counterfeit medicine, " says

Zucker, Assistant Director General for Health Technology and

Pharmaceuticals at WHO. " International police action against the

factories and distribution networks should be as uncompromising as

that applied to the pursuit of narcotic smuggling. "

Counterfeit medicines are part of the broader phenomenon of

substandard pharmaceuticals. The difference is that they are

deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled with respect to identity

and/or source. These products mostly have no therapeutic benefit;

they can cause drug resistance and death.

Trade in counterfeits is extremely lucrative, thus making it more

attractive to criminal networks. A report released by the Centre for

Medicines in the Public Interest, in the United States, projects

counterfeit drug sales to reach US$ 75 billion in 2010, a 92 %

increase from 2005.

The presence of fake drugs is more prevalent in countries with weak

drug regulation control and enforcement. However, no single country

is immune to the problem. Reports from the pharmaceutical industry

and governments clearly indicate that the methods and channels used

by counterfeiters are becoming more sophisticated, making detection

more difficult. Measures for combating counterfeit medicines so far

have included support to under-resourced drug regulatory authorities;

simple, easily interpretable and cheap markers of authenticity such

as barcoding; transnational surveillance for fake and substandard

drugs; and education of patients, healthcare workers, and

pharmacists.

" These measures need to be intensified, " adds Dr Zucker. " Countries

should think about ways to make the necessary technological,

legislative and financial adjustments as quickly as possible to

guarantee the availability of quality assured essential drugs. "

WHO would also like to see more developments in the areas of

innovative high and low tech solutions for prevention at the

manufacturing stage and for detection in the distribution chain.

Simple, inexpensive methods to identify fakes can be effective. For

example, simple colorimetric assays developed for artemisinins have

been used successfully to identify fake artesunate antimalarials.

WHO set up the world's first web-based system for tracking the

activities of drug cheats in the Western Pacific Region in 2005. The

Rapid Alert System (RAS) communications network transmits reports on

the distribution of counterfeit medicines to the relevant authorities

for them to take rapid countermeasures. That system should be

expanded to include all regions.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) and more sophisticated

technologies for product tracking within supply chain management

systems are being experimented in some countries. Means must be

sought to make these more sophisticated tools available and workable

in developing countries.

Information on fake drug identity and distribution needs to be shared

nationally and internationally between government drug regulatory

authorities, customs and police organizations, pharmaceutical

companies, non-governmental organizations, and consumer groups. Risk

communications, involving the media, should be practised to raise

public awareness.

The Rome conference is hosted by the Italian Pharmaceutical Agency

(AIFA) and Italian ation, and organized with the support of the

International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers &

Associations (IFPMA) and the German Government. Participants in the

conference include experts from national governments and regulatory

authorities, industry, intergovernmental organizations, and consumer

and patient groups.

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