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 Drugs Department Marilyn Collins. Speaking…

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 the risks to Americans who…

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 unaffected, but mounting evidence shows…