The Community Must Stand Up to Protect Victims of Fake Drugs
Sri Lankan stakeholders gathered in Kandy on April 4th to educate pharmacists “to protect Sri Lankan families from counterfeit drugs” at the Sri Lanka Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry conference (SLCPI).
Promoted also by the US Embassy, American Chamber of Commercial and the National Intellectual Property Organization, the seminar was attended by Health Ministry and Drug Authority officials, Police Officers, Epidemiologists and others, reported the Daily Mirror.
SLCPI President Ananda Samarasinghe said in opening remarks, “Counterfeit drug makers are very sharp and cunning. They can mimic the original or genuine drug to such a degree as to mislead the doctor and the pharmacist, and they make these products available at cheap prices so as to induce some pharmacists to purchase them. Eventually, it is the patient looking for a cheaper drug who becomes a victim of this.”
However, he added, Sri Lanka’s strong government has been vigilant to these issues. Counterfeiters in Sri Lanka, he said, usually target innovator drugs or well-known generics with nearly identical packaging, but potentially no or wrong ingredients.
Ken Kero-Mentz, Economic Officer at the US Embassy, reminded the friends and family of the sick to look out for fake medicines on behalf of their loved ones, “You are not alone in this fight. It is important when a person goes to the pharmacy to purchase medicine for a sick family member, or orders medicine from an online provider, that he or she can be certain that the medicine is genuine.”