Blog

On Tuesday 25 April we raise awareness of World Malaria Day. Malaria as a disease that disproportionately impacts children, women and the developing world more broadly, and is largely preventable given the right medication and treatment. Unfortunately, according to the WHO 1/3 of antimalarial medicines in Africa, where most of the 429,000 annual casualties occur, are fake. Raising awareness about malaria and the importance of genuine medicine is paramount to defeating this treatable disease. Learn Read more…

Blog by Luc Besançon, Chief Executive Officer at Fight the Fakes partner the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). This blog was originally posted by Fight the Fakes partner the US Pharmacopeial Convention.  Fake medicines kill an estimated one million people annually. We know, for example, that almost a third of Africa’s antimalarials supply is fake—and leads to  120,000 unnecessary deaths per year. Around the world, many others suffer health problems—sometimes permanent—because of these substandard, spurious products. Medicines counterfeiting Read more…

This article was originally published in: Frontier Myanmar The fight against fake drugs MARCH 31, 2017 The fake drugs widely available in Myanmar are a threat to public health, an obstacle to combating the spread of treatment-resistant malaria and part of a global trade worth an estimated $75 billion. By OLIVER SLOW | FRONTIER SEVERAL MONTHS ago, when Daw Thaung Tin began experiencing searing pain in her abdomen each time she ate a meal, she Read more…

In September 2016, UN Member States adopted Political Declaration of the High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance calling for the establishment of a group to provide practical guidance towards global action on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). AMR is what happens when a microorganism, instead of being cured by medication, becomes resistant to it, thereby rendering it ineffective. This problem often occurs in the context of fake medicines. The Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers in India (OPPI) joined forces Read more…

We are proud to announce Commonwealth Pharmacist Association as a Partner of the Fight the Fakes campaign! The Commonwealth Pharmacist Association (CPA) advances health, promotes wellbeing and improves education for the benefit of the people of the Commonwealth. It supports the development of safe and effective systems of medicines management, healthier lifestyles, and the reduction of health inequalities. This is achieved through building strong collaborative networks, partnering with member organizations to improve the quality of pharmacy practice and Read more…

On Saturday 11th March our partners at the UCL School of Pharmacy were among those teaching the next generation of pharmacists how to stop fake medicines in their tracks. The students from the South of England had assembled at the UCL School of Pharmacy to discuss cardiology, and recorded their activity by tweeting with the hashtag BPSAconference. Did you know 20.5 million fake and illicit medicines were seized in 2015! #BPSAconference @School_Pharmacy pic.twitter.com/y91alYFaFy — UCL Read more…

From anti-counterfeiting legislation to serialisation and online pharmacies, hardly a stone was left unturned in a two-day discussion at the 3rd Anti-Counterfeiting Pharma Conference in Kensington, London. On 7-8 March 2017 delegates from leading organisations in health and science debated strategies and measures to combat counterfeiting at the 3rtd Anti-Counterfeiting Pharma Conference. It was great to see Fight the Fakes partners among the speakers who stood up to present their activities and ideas in the Read more…

Our partner the European Healthcare Distribution Association (GIRP) is hosting an event on Managing Risk in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain on 8-9 March 2017 in Brussels. The conference will discuss how the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare distributors and other partners in the supply chain can manage risk when storing and transporting medicines and healthcare products. Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss the challenges they face and to share  existing best-practices that ensure products reach patients safely. A strong Read more…

On 15 February 2016, the Anti-counterfeit Network Africa was launched in Uganda to help in the fight against production & supply of fake medicines. Fake medicines are very difficult to detect and can appear identical to the genuine product. However, they fail to treat the patient correctly and in some cases can lead to serious illness or death. The network will address this challenge through sustained, integrated and co-operative effort with multiple organizations, to ensure patients receive Read more…

With 26 signatories and 5 ratifying countries, Burkina Faso became the latest country to sign the Medicrime convention on the 17 February 2017. Adopted in 2010 by the Council of Europe and entering into force in 2016, the Medicrime convention is the first international legal treaty to protect patients from the threat of fake medicines. It is the only international legal instrument that has made it a criminal offence to produce and distribute fake medical Read more…