UN working group on counterfeit medicines – preliminary report

“The first priority for public health, and this is the priority for WHO, is to protect populations from the harm caused by poor-quality, unsafe medicines,” stated Dr. Chan, WHO’s Director General in a recent release.  ”The objective is to keep these harmful products off the market everywhere, but especially in the developing world.”

An intergovernmental working group focused on this issue has delivered its preliminary report on the World Health Organization’s future role in the fight against substandard and counterfeit medicines.

According to the initial report, the working group recommended that the WHO concentrate its efforts on substandard and SSFFC medical products in three areas: information and awareness creation; norms and standards; and providing technical support to countries.

Customs groups commit to fight counterfeit drug industry

Counterfeit drugs have become a $200-billion-a-year industry and the 176-nation World Customs Organisation (WCO) will sign a declaration later this month to fight the scourge, an official said on Thursday (Source:  Reuters).

Fake or substandard versions of medicines are often hidden in cargoes sent on circuitous routes to mask their country of origin. “We have more fakes than real drugs in the market,” said Christophe Zimmermann, the WCO’s anti-counterfeiting and piracy coordinator. “In 2007-2008 alone, it rose 596 percent.”

The World Trade Organisation says fake anti-malaria drugs kill 100,000 Africans a year and the black market deprives governments of 2.5-5 percent of their revenue.

The Brussels-based WCO represents customs operations globally and has joined with former French president’s Jacques Chirac’s foundation to raise awareness at upper echelons to curtail the illicit industry.

Fake medicines often contain the wrong or toxic ingredients and pose a growing health threat worldwide, especially in poor countries where drugs are sold to treat conditions such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV.

“If these subjects are not dealt with and strong action not taken, they will be a source of conflict,” said Catherine Joubert, director general of the Fondation Chirac, adding that so far 30 groups had signed the declaration.

In a sign Europe is taking the issue seriously too, justice ministers on the Council of Europe are set to ratify a convention on counterfeit medicines in Istanbul this November.

63rd WHA – update on discussions

The sixty-third World Health Assembly is coming to a close later today.  Some of the key issues raised at this year’s meeting included progress towards the Millenium Development Goals, counterfeit medicines, prevention of non-communicable diseases and the Global Strategy on public health, innovation and intellectual property.  The following is a brief overview from these discussions.

Millenium Development Goals (MDGs)

Experts from WHO, member countries and the Global Fund provided a progress update on the health-related MDGs and highlighted key challenges remaining.

Noting the impact of the financial crisis on health, participants emphasized the importance of sustaining investments in health.

Speakers highlighted the need for better coordination of funding mechanisms, global financing aligning with local priorities and national health plans, and mutual accountability for both the donors and the receiving governments.

Participants called for renewed action to achieve the health-MDGs.

Prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)

NCDs cause 60% of all deaths worldwide, with 80% occurring in low and middle-income countries.

Noncommunicable diseases – mainly cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes – kill nearly 35 million people per year. Almost 90% of fatalities before the age of 60 occur in developing countries and are largely preventable.

Highlighted the changing health profiles of countries and the need to focus attention on the emerging priority of NCDs and their burden on the population and health care spending.

Counterfeit Medicines

The proliferation of potentially lethal or harmful counterfeit medicines has been on the rise, particularly with the increased usage of the Internet worldwide.

WHO will not drop use of the term ‘counterfeit’ to describe fake medicines despite generic producing nations complaints about possible confusion over the term.

“With substandard medicines, drug regulatory authorities know who to go to when a quality problem is discovered,” said Hans Hogerzeil, the director of the WHO programme on Medicines Policy and Standards. “But with counterfeit, false or fake medicines the identity of the producer is not known, and they easily cross national borders, so normal regulatory approaches cannot be used.”

“Every honest industry is interested in stopping this,” said Hogerzeil, as is every government because counterfeiting harms both patients and the legitimacy of the health system.”

Public health, innovation and intellectual property

Delegates discussed a global strategy and plans of action for public health, innovation and intellectual property. The debate focused on financing issues, including the rational use of funds, and conducting research through regional networks.

The item will be taken up for discussion later in the week.

Global eradication of measles

Approximately 20 delegates took the floor and endorsed targets set for 2015 as milestones towards the eventual global eradication of measles.

Success in achieving the measles 2015 targets is essential if the MDG 4 – reduce child mortality – is to be reached.

Food Safety

Many countries noted that diseases can be caused by unsafe food, that national food production systems are susceptible food safety problems and that more food is traded across borders then ever before.

WHO was encouraged to continue working directly with Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) to strengthen public health, support economic development, and continue joint risk assessments through WHO/FAO expert bodies, and establish standards through the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission.

India’s Fake Drugs – commentary from the WSJ

The following is an interesting commentary published in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal on the threat to global health posed by counterfeit medicines.  Counterfeit medicines are a global problem, but this article focuses on India.

India’s Fake Drugs Are a Real Problem
Bad drugs don’t just threaten lives, they undermine the entire medical system

Opinion by Roger Bate

The Food and Drug Administration of the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh recently conducted a series of raids throughout its region to uncover counterfeit drugs. The raids yielded large quantities of substandard medicines and resulted in several arrests.