[e-drug] Counterfeiter sentenced to jail term in UK

e-drug
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E-DRUG: Counterfeiter sentenced to jail term in UK
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Dear E-Druggers

A story from the UK of a drug counterfeiter / collaborator being
sentenced to a prison term for his activities (from PharmaTimes as fair
use). Hopefully we will one day get to the point where this is
happening to those operating in lower-income countries.

Regards

Douglas Ball
ResultsinHealth, Netherlands
douglasball [AT] yahoo.co.uk
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Man jailed for worst ever breach of medicines supply chain
http://www.pharmatimes.com/Article/11-04-12/Man_jailed_for_worst_ever_breach_of_medicines_supply_chain.aspx

A British man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for his role
in what law enforcers describe as the "most serious known breach" of the
regulated UK medicines supply chain.

Following a four-month trial in Croydon Crown Court, 64-year old Peter
Gillespie was found guilty for working with an international network of
criminals to inject fake drugs into the UK's legitimate supply chain
during a five-month period in 2007. The case, known as Operation
Singapore, centred on the importation of more than two million doses of
counterfeit life-saving medicines into the country. More than half of
these were captured by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory
Agency, but a huge amount - almost 900,000 doses - initially reached
pharmacies and patients. Despite an immediate recall of Eli Lilly's
antipsychotic Zyprexa (olanzapine), Bristol-Myers Squibb's bloodthinner
Plavix (clopidogrel) and AstraZeneca's prostate cancer drug Casodex
(bicalutamide), 700,000 doses were left unaccounted for, putting the
health of many Britons in jeopardy.

Mick Deats, the MHRA's head of enforcement, also revealed that plans to
bring in three other counterfeit drugs - Pfizer/Eisai's Alzheimer's drug
Aricept (donepezil), UCB's antiepileptic Keppra (levetiracetam) and
Johnson & Johnson's antipsychotic Risperdal (risperidone) - had been foiled.

*Plans foiled*

"They didn't get to bring them in but they were definitely well on the
way to being prepared to receive them," he told the media, according to
Reuters. "This is serious criminal activity and puts people's lives at
risk," Deats said, and stressed that the Agency would not hesitate "to
take all appropriate action to eliminate the risks posed by counterfeit
medicines and take action against those engaged in their supply".
However, he also noted current evidence suggests that medicines supplied
through the UK legitimate supply chain are genuine and safe to take.

Since 2004 there have been just 15 known instances of counterfeit
medicines in the UK regulated supply chain, and given that 850 million
prescriptions are dispensed every year in the UK, the likelihood of
receiving a counterfeit medicine remains extremely rare, the MHRA said.

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E-DRUG: Counterfeiter sentenced to jail term in UK (2)
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Dear E-drug members,
Counterfeit medicines is a crime against Humanity in my view. It is no different from robbery without violence. It is taking life away from unsuspecting persons whether in developed or developing countries.

Stringent regulatory authorities have better chances if detecting counterfeits in the distribution chain. However, counterfeiters are always designing newer schemes because of their ingenuity and drive for quick money.

There is need now for an international treaty to identify the source of counterfeit medicines and every country to be signatory to punish owners of original sources. The reason is that once the counterfeit enters the distribution chain it will reach the unsuspecting consumer unless detected (usually difficult). My view is that the sophistication technology required by the counterfeiters may not even be available in poorly resourced countries, rather, the counterfeiters are exploiting the weakness in their regulatory systems. So, let us get commitment country by country that they will do all within their means by enacting laws that counterfeit medicines is a crime against Humanity and be punished as severe as trade in illicit drugs

Dr W.O. Wanyanga
Pharmacist consultant, Kenya
Phone: +254 20 20 53655
Mobile: +254 733 748478 / +254 722 570304
Email: wow@pharmaqltd.com

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E-DRUG: Conflict of interests of Global health foundation
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Dear E-druggers

Like to draw your attention to an interesting paper published in PLOS today
entitled:

Global Health Philanthropy and Institutional Relationships: How
Should Conflicts of Interest Be Addressed?written by Professor David Stuckler of
Harvard University in Boston, USA, Dr. Sanjay Basu of University of California,
San Francisco, and Professor Martin McKee of London School of Hygiene &
Tropical Medicine in London United Kingdom,

Paper shows that major foundations liike Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford
Foundation, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and
Rockefeller Foundation, that together have an annual revenue in excess of US$7
billion— have links with and investments in private food and pharmaceutical
companies that may benefit from foundation grants. The authors also found that
in some instances foundation board members sat on the boards of corporations
that also may benefit from their grants and vice versa.

These intertwining relationships may impact on decisions about financial flows
in global health by major donors and shape public health agendas. For example
they found:
"Our analysis focused mainly on the potential conflicts of
interests among the largest foundation, the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation. As one example, we found that Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation has substantial holdings in the Coca-Cola Corporation, and also
participates in grants that encourage communities in developing countries to
become business affiliates of Coca-Cola. It has been noted by
some commentators that sugary drinks such as those produced by
Coca-Cola are correlated with the rapid increase in obesity and
diabetes in developing countries. Noncommunicable diseases
constitute more than half of all deaths in low- and middle-income countries,
while the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, along with the World
Bank and national official development aid donors, have been
criticized for directing less than 3% of their collective
budgets toward these conditions. "

"Authors discuss certain mitigating measures such as divestment, transparency and
aligning aid money with community needs and point out that "Working toward
global health financing that aligns with the disease burden
will remain elusive if foundations and financial
institutions operate as distinct bodies while influencing
communities that are receiving numerous disparate and poorly
coordinated funds. Thus, foundation investment and program portfolios should
incorporate representation from the intended recipients of its support."

You can download the full paper from
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001020&representation=PDF

Klara Tisocki
ResultsinHealth
The Netherlands
Klara Tisocki <ktisocki@yahoo.ie>

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E-DRUG: Conflict of interests of Global health foundations (2)
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Dear E-druggers,

I admit I have only read Klara Tsocki's posting not the full report
referred to, but on COI it seems to me that "foundation investment and
program portfolios should incorporate representation from the intended
recipients of its support" could equally represent a conflict of
interest if the recipients of grants are able to influence foundation
decision-making.

In my opinion we should leave the investment decisions to investment
professionals to get the best return on the investment thus creating
more wealth for grant making and the public health and other development
decisions to professionals in those fields to spend the funding wisely.

Regards
David Jamieson
Partnership for Supply Chain Management
"David Jamieson" <djamieson@pfscm.org>