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Issue 6 of SF Pulse is out now! The issue highlights the following: FtFA Academic Chair Oksana Pyzik issues a powerful call alongside the 78th World Health Assembly to hold those responsible for producing and distributing falsified medicines accountable. Writing for ENACT, researcher Aimé Raoul Sumo Tayo argues that despite recent progress, Congo-Brazzaville continues to face considerable challenges in combatting the threat of substandard medicines Global Press Journal reporter-in-residence Gamuchirai Masiyiwa explores the smuggled medicine trade in Read more…

Fight the Fakes Alliance delivered a statement during the 78th World Health Assembly, on Monday, 26 May 2025, agenda item 13.5, echoing the points previously raised at World Health Organization Executive Board meeting. In response to the WHO’s report evaluating the Member State Mechanism on Substandard and Falsified Medical Products—and its recommendation to enhance collaboration with non-State actors—FtFA reaffirms its commitment to working alongside Member States, WHO, civil society, regulatory authorities, law enforcement, customs officials, Read more…

Michael Schmitz, US Pharmacopeia, has officially been elected as FtFA’s new Vice-Chair starting 18 May 2025. Mike succeeds Geraldine Lissalde-Bonnet as one of our two Vice-Chairs, joining our Chair, Andrea Vassalotti, and fellow Vice-Chair, Chris Goetz, on the leadership team. Mike Schmitz brings extensive experience in international health policy and advocacy, currently serving as Director of International Advocacy at the US Pharmacopeia, where he leads global regulatory engagement to ensure access to quality medicines. He Read more…

Held at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, DC, the 2024 symposium welcomed ~ 103 attendees who shared insights and assessed progress. It charted a collective course of action to combat the threat posed by substandard and falsified drugs. Through enlightening keynote addresses and interactive discussions, the event emphasized the importance of a multifaceted public health response through prevention, detection, and response strategies rooted in digital and physical surveillance, capacity building, regulatory enforcement, and Read more…

Issue 5 of SF Pulse is out now! The issue highlights the following: A call to World Health Organization to expand its existing Prequalification of Medicines Programme, which helps ensure enforcement of quality standards for a wide range of medical products. How counterfeiters are now successfully replicating packaging QR codes intended to help regulators discern safe medicines from  substandard ones. An innovative method for falsified or substandard vaccines that does not require them to open the Read more…

Issue 4 of SF Pulse is out now! The newest issue dives into five topics including: A deep dive into how Johnson & Johnson starts thinking about anti-counterfeiting needs well before the product launch. An article by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime highlighting the risks that an increased inflow of synthetic opioids, which are used in counterfeit and falsified medicines, could pose to Europe. A sneak peek of the Nigerian government’s successful efforts Read more…