E-DRUG: WHO-led anti-counterfeiting coalition (3)
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WHO Western Pacific Region Rapid Alert System (RAS)
This message buids on an e-drug thread from March 13 and 15
< WHO-led anti-counterfeiting coalition examines technologies to prevent fake drugs
13 MARCH 2007 | PRAGUE/GENEVA -- More than twenty technology
companies are responding to a call to support the fight against
counterfeit medicines spearheaded by the International Medical
Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT) set up by the World
Health Organization (WHO) and partners. They will join the IMPACT
Working Group on Technology today for a one-day meeting in Prague to
assess technologies which could improve the global prevention,
tracking and detection of counterfeit medicines.
"Technologies can speed up health results in all sorts of ways,"
said Dr Howard Zucker, Assistant Director-General for Health
Technology and Pharmaceuticals at WHO and Chair of IMPACT. "In the
case of anti-counterfeiting, the challenges we face are finding
technologies that cannot themselves be counterfeited and
transferring them to resource poor settings at an affordable cost.
While technology alone cannot solve the problem, some of these
solutions could greatly enhance the ability to detect and deter the
distribution of counterfeit medicines."..........
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WHO Western Pacific Region Rapid Alert System (RAS)
In South-East Asia approximately 10% of the products on the market are
estimated to be counterfeit. Fake artemesinin products for malaria have
caused enormous problems. No country is immune to counterfeit problems
so it is important to be alert in the Region and to share any suspicions
with colleagues.
WHO in the WPRO has set up a Rapid Alert System for Combating
Counterfeit Medicines
Everybody designated by Government or the National Drug Regulatory
Authority can join the system and a request/email can be sent to
pha@wpro.who.int
The system is also available at: http://www.counterfeitmedalert.info
After joining, all members are provided with instructions on how to use
the Rapid Alert System.
The RAS is used ONLY for reporting cases on counterfeit medicines and to
discuss and share information on the particular subject of counterfeit
medicine. All reported cases are delivered to the PHA unit in WPRO for
confirmation with the country focal point and the report is sent to all
members in the electronic communication network.
A very useful Fact Sheet on counterfeit medicines can be found at
http://www.wpro.who.int/sites/pha/fact_sheets/list.htm
Another fact sheet can be accessed at
http://www.wpro.who.int/media_centre/fact_sheets/fs_20050503.htm
An update on the estimates of counterfeit medicines available at the end
of 2006 is at this site
http://www.who.int/medicines/services/counterfeit/impact/TheNewEstimatesCounterfeit.pdf
Vigilance is important
In countries that have no drug registration system, quality assurance
measures must be built into the procurement process to ensure safety,
efficacy and quality of pharmaceutical products. In addition, a system
for monitoring and maintaining product quality throughout the product's
shelf life should be in place. If these procedures are followed
counterfeit products will be excluded.
Beverley Snell
Moderator
bev@burnet.edu.au