E-DRUG: WHO lauches global plan to combat counterfeit medical products
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[WHO Note for the Media WHO/32; WB]
2 November 2006
WHO TO UNVEIL GLOBAL ANTI-COUNTERFEITING PLAN
Geneva: On 15 November, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners
will officially launch the first ever International Medical Products
Anti-counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT) and unveil the global plan to combat
counterfeit medical products.
At its first official meeting in Bonn, Germany, IMPACT will release the most
recent estimates of the number of counterfeit products currently circulating
on the world's markets, launch pilot programmes in three countries, and
present a tool to strengthen countries' legislative capacity to deal with
medical counterfeiting.
IMPACT is focused on five action areas embracing the different national and
international sectors related to counterfeiting. These are: legislative and
regulatory infrastructure; regulatory implementation; enforcement;
technology; and risk communication.
"Without changes and improvements in those key areas, we will not succeed in
the fight against counterfeits," said Dr Howard Zucker, WHO Assistant
Director-General for Health Technology and Pharmaceuticals. "Counterfeit
medicines must be tackled not only through global efforts but also by a
truly collaborative, cross-cutting approach involving medicine regulatory
authorities, health professionals, enforcement officials, law-makers and
industry."
Counterfeit medicines are dangerous products. They promote drug resistant
strains of disease and can worsen medical conditions or cause death. They
are present on all markets and are increasing as counterfeiters' methods
become more sophisticated, infiltrating official channels of distribution as
well as using illegal web sites to sell their wares.
Counterfeits are of greater concern in countries with weak regulatory
control mechanisms. These are often the countries with the highest burden
of disease, the poorest populations and the greatest need for reliable
medicines.
The IMPACT initiative was first proposed by WHO at a meeting in Rome in
February this year. WHO Member States and all major stakeholders in the
global community welcomed the plan to tackle the growing public health
threat. The taskforce was created in record time and is now ready to begin
work.
The global taskforce is made up of WHO Member States, on a voluntary basis,
and more than 20 other major stakeholders, including Interpol, the World
Customs Associations, patients' and medical organizations, the World Bank,
the World Trade Organization and the International Federation of
Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations.
The meeting is hosted and co-organized by the German Ministry of Health.
For more information on the task force and the meeting, please view:
http://www.who.int/medicines/services/counterfeit/en/index.html
Journalists wishing to attend the Bonn meeting may send an e-mail to:
pressestelle@bmg.bund.de , Telephone: +49
(0) 3018 441-2312, Fax: +49 (0) 3018 441-1245
WHO Contact: Daniela Bagozzi, Communications Officer, tel. +41 22 791 45 44;
mobile: +41 79 475 54 90, email: bagozzid@who.int. All press releases, fact sheets and other WHO media material may be found at www.who.int