Counterfeit medicines in China

An interesting article from the Canadian Medical Association Journal about the production and dangers of counterfeit medicines, with a specific focus on China.

China’s booming counterfeit medicine trade

It was a cringe-worthy moment for China when 600 000 counterfeit antimalarial tablets were intercepted by the Nigerian government in June. Produced and shipped from China, they bore an unexpected label — ”Made in India.” Even the fakes were being faked. It was a new low.

Many things are faked here — from cheap Gucci sunglasses to iPhones. Drugs are no exception. Medicine counterfeiters in China have the dubious honor of being among the worst offenders in the counterfeit drug trade. Often stuffed with chalk, flour or pollen, the pills are passed off as genuine medications. The drug counterfeiters are so skilled that even the holograms on the packages are copied and faked. It’s a trade which preys upon poorer countries, such as Nigeria, that lack the funds to set up strict regulation and the ability to purchase higher quality drugs.

“China, along with India, is responsible for the vast majority of the fakes making it to the international market,” says Roger Bate, an economist who researches health policy and author of Making a Killing: The Deadly Implications of the Counterfeit Drug Trade.