Partnership For Safe Medicines Joins FDA Counterfeit Alert Network
Pharmacy Expert Says Internet is Key to Fighting Counterfeiters Worldwide
Washington, D.C. (March 7, 2006) � The Partnership for Safe Medicines, a coalition of patient, physician, pharmacist, university, industry and professional organizations, today announced that its SafeMeds Alert System has become a part of the Food and Drug Administration�s (FDA) Counterfeit Alert Network.
Named a �Healthy Idea� by February�s Consumer Reports on Health, the SafeMeds Alert System broadcasts email alerts about counterfeit medicines from government health agencies. Anyone can sign up with just their name and email address, and they will receive alerts as soon as FDA or other health agencies announce them.
�Counterfeiters have grown more sophisticated, so we have to use the power of the internet to fight back,� said Marv Shepherd, Ph.D, Director of the Center for Pharmacoeconomic Studies at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Texas-Austin. �We want consumers to know that they can protect themselves. The SafeMeds Alert System will bring government warnings in real-time.�
The Partnership also has offered the SafeMeds Alert System as a potential project for collaboration by major healthcare stakeholders worldwide. Shepherd hopes that it will become a key component of the new anti-counterfeiting IMPACT task force led by the World Health Organization.
�This is just the beginning,� added Shepherd. �The more partners we find, the more we can expand this system across the globe.�
The SafeMeds Alert System is only a part of a kit of medicine safety tools, including the SAFEDRUG checklist, a direct link to safe online pharmacies, and a guide to Safe Savings for people with low-incomes. These tools are available for free at SafeMedicines.org.
About the Partnership for Safe Medicines
The Partnership for Safe Medicines is a coalition of patient, physician, pharmacist, university, industry and other professional organizations committed to the safety of prescription drugs and protecting consumers against unapproved, counterfeit, substandard, mishandled or otherwise unsafe medicines. For more information, visit us online at SafeMedicines.org.