Need for better coordinated global approaches to falsified medicines, new report finds

Opportunities for a better coordinated international response to the threat of falsified, or counterfeit, medicines are highlighted in a study released this week. The prevention of pharmaceutical falsification should be seen as an integral part of the global health community’s effort to improve access to effective, good quality medicines and protect public health worldwide.

Titled Falsified Medicines and the Global Public’s Health, the report was commissioned by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA) and was independently prepared by researchers at the University College London (UCL) School of Pharmacy and the international research agency Matrix Insight.

The new report focuses on the need for high quality information about the scale of harm caused by medicine falsification. Past studies found that 15% to 50% of anti-malarial treatments purchased in parts of Asia and Africa to be counterfeit, and data overall suggest that falsified products may account for nearly 1% of global medicine sales. While people in less developed communities are at greater risk than in richer ones, falsified therapies are regularly reported in virtually every country from the US and EU to the poorest sub-Saharan nations. They also affect every major therapeutic category.