Global coalition in the fight against falsified medicines meets in Brussels as it welcomes its 35th partner
Wednesday, 25 October 2017, Brussels – Fight the Fakes campaign partners representing healthcare professionals, academia, NGOs, the generic and research-based pharmaceutical industry, healthcare distributers, and consumer protection organizations met this week to work on their future plans to raise awareness of the widespread sale and use of falsified medicines across the world and the dangers associated with these fake products.
With virtually all countries around the world impacted by fake medicines, and potentially 15% of medicines worldwide and up to 30% in some regions being fake, this a real danger to public health. By passing themselves off as something they are not, fake medicines put patients at risk for continued illness, disability, or even death. Some estimates put the number of deaths by falsified medicines at 700,000 per year. In addition, online sale of medicines is an increasing international threat, as there are more than 40,000 “active rogue online pharmacies” at active at any one time. Fake medicines represent a crime against patients and are a danger to public health, contributing to resistance of genuine treatments and undermining confidence in health systems.
As the campaign approaches its four-year anniversary, Fight the Fakes is gathering pace in its efforts to inform, inspire, empower, and mobilize communities against fake medicines; as well as building up further momentum to call for the creation and strict application of legislative and regulatory frameworks. Partners today reinforced their commitment to the campaign and the issue of falsified medicines, committing themselves to tangible actions to further raise the profile of this global health threat.
IFPMA proudly joined this meeting as one of the founding members of this coalition. As the voice of the research-based biopharmaceutical companies and associations across the globe, IFPMA has always considered falsified medicines a threat to global health and to patient safety. To tackle this problem, a great level of coordination between all stakeholders is paramount. IFPMA is very proud to collaborate with 35 partner organizations working along the supply chain.
Today, Fight the Fakes is proud to also announce that the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) has joined the campaign, bringing the total number of partners to 35. In signing up to join Fight the Fakes, the partners’ commit to raising awareness across their organizations around the world. In this way, Fight the Fakes reaches not only the general public, via its social media campaign, but also thousands of nurses, pharmacists, researchers, NGOs and foundations, academic institutions and their students, employees involved in mHealth, pharmaceutical wholesalers, and the research-based and generics pharmaceutical industry.
By joining Fight the Fakes, NABP will take the Fight the Fakes campaign to their members in the USA, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Australia, Bahamas, Canada, and New Zealand. “We appreciate the efforts that Fight the Fakes has undertaken to educate the public about the prevalence and the dangers of falsified medications. This outreach is especially vital today, when fake medicines pose a global public health threat.”, said Carmen A. Catizone, NABP Executive Director/Secretary.
For further information:
Morgane de Pol: m.depol@fightthefakes.org, tel: +41 22 338 3220
About Fight the Fakes
Fight the Fakes is a campaign that aims to raise awareness about the dangers of fake medicines. The campaign gives a voice to those who have been personally impacted and shares the stories of those working to put a stop to this threat to public health. It seeks to build a global movement of organizations and individuals who will shine light on the negative impact that fake medicines have on people around the globe and to reduce the negative consequences on individuals worldwide.
About falsified medicines
Nearly any type of pharmaceutical product can be and has been falsified: whether ‘lifestyle’ medicines, including erectile dysfunction and weight loss medicines, or lifesaving medicines including those used to treat malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other life-threatening conditions. More than 500 fake versions of pharmaceutical products are currently circulating. Manufacturers of fake medicines do not discriminate – fake medicines can be both long established and recently marketed medicines, both branded and generic, and both domestically manufactured and imported.
About IFPMA
The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) represents over 90 innovative pharmaceutical companies and associations around the world. Our industry’s almost three million employees discover, develop, and deliver medicines and vaccines that advance global health. Based in Geneva, IFPMA has official relations with the United Nations and contributes industry expertise to help the global health community improve the lives of people everywhere. For more information, visit ifpma.org.
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