Monitoring systems inadequate to police counterfeit drug imports

June 22, 2007

The impact of the global multi-billion dollar trade on counterfeit drugs and its effects on the health sector and the quality of health care being afforded Guyanese cannot be accurately determined since the available mechanisms for monitoring the importation of drugs into Guyana are both inadequate and unreliable, according to Director of the Food and…

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Drug Importation and Safety of Drugs Obtained from Canada

June 20, 2007

In this issue of The Annals, Veronin et al.1 discuss drug quality with a comparison of simvastatin tablets from the US and Canada obtained via the Internet. Using near-infrared spectroscopic imaging, the research found that generic simvastatin manufactured in Canada was comparable to the brand-name product made in the US. The objective was to determine…

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Bad Medicine in the Market

June 19, 2007

Counterfeit medicines are an insidious threat to global health, and the risks they pose have been largely underestimated to date. Apart from failing to cure disease, they can cause mental and physical damage–and even death. Fake drugs containing insufficient active ingredients breed resistance, which can make standard drugs useless. No area of the world is…

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Counterfeit medicines pass through Finland to world markets

June 15, 2007

Counterfeit versions of patent medicines are increasingly passing through Finland on their way to the world market. Last week, for instance, Finnish Customs confiscated a consignment of counterfeit impotence pills and diet drugs. The manufacturers of the genuine substances were notified. In the early part of the year Finish customs had confiscated about 140,000 doses…

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