Counterfeit Medicines - The Global Hazard

A counterfeit medicine is a product, which is deliberately and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to identity and/or source, ingredients or the packaging while substandard medicines are genuine medicines produced by legitimate manufacturers that do not meet the quality specifications that the producer says they meet. Even countries with advanced regulatory systems are seriously challenged by this deceptive practice. An analysis conducted by International Medical Product Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT) shows that counterfeiting is greater in those areas where regulatory and legal oversight is weaker. This easy and lucrative business has attracted organized crime and in most of the countries, the punishment is not sufficiently strong to deter criminals. The fight against counterfeit medicines requires collaboration at national, regional and international levels. The absence of deterrent legislation, non implementation of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), lapses in the product supply chain and unauthorized internet based sales of pharmaceuticals remain the major reasons of the proliferation of this crime. To deal with this problem strict measures are to be taken by the governments,complementing the legislation with effective law enforcement. RFID (Radio frequency identification technology) and OVDs (optically variable devices) can help track and authenticate the drugs.