At the third panel, "Safe Medicines: The Role of Patients & Healthcare Professionals," Jeremiah Mwangi, Policy & External Affairs Director, International Alliance of Patients' Organizations, spoke on the role of patients.   Mwangi said that counterfeit drugs are a matter of patient safety, eroding trust in healthcare systems, and creating a public health risk. IAPO has called for a global approach…

The second panelist, Connie Jung from the Office of Drug Security, Integrity and Recall from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration spoke about how to help patients protect themselves from counterfeit drugs. She said that patients first of all need to be aware of the risk of receiving counterfeit medications and potential problems associated with them.  FDA is committed to…

Bejon Misra, Founder of Partnership for Safe Medicines India, moderated the third panel, "The Role of Patients & Healthcare Professionals."   Misra began the session by showing a video that highlights the work of PSM India.  Misra began by distributing tokens of appreciation from the Board of PSM India to the Board of Partnership for Safe Medicines, saying that PSM…

Maryland Attorney General, Douglas F. Gansler, spoke on Panel 2.   Said Gansler, "We all have a blind trust in the drugs we take, the doctor says we'll get better when we take it, and we trust that medication is what it purports to be. "But counterfeit drugs make it not the case. " Said Gansler, with counterfeit drugs being…

Libby Baney, advisor for the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies, spoke as part of Panel 2, “Combating Drug Counterfeiting & Sales.” She moved the crowd in her opening statement with a personal story of her sister’s encounter with counterfeit drugs.

Moderator Scotti Russell, from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, which received the Partnership for Safe Medicines Guardian Award last night, led the "Combating Drug Counterfeiting & Sales" panel. The first speaker, Alex Bamiagis, advisor for the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) Victoria Espinel while on detail from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Bamiagis outlined ways CBP…

Travis Johnson, Director of Legislative Affairs and Policy, International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, spoke on panel one about what industry is doing to fight counterfeiting.   He said that the borders are not the only places to look for counterfeit medicines and that law enforcement has to ask "how are people finding the fake drugs?"   He says that counterfeit medicines are…