USAID and USP Expand Efforts to Combat Counterfeit Drug Sales
The statistics are staggering. According to the U.S.-based Center for Medicines in the Public Interest, counterfeit drug sales will reach $75 billion globally in 2010 –that’s an increase of more than 90 percent from 2005.
As you might expect, the threat of substandard and counterfeit medicines is particularly high in developing countries, where regulation is weakest, and that’s why I was pleased to hear that earlier this week the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention announced that are launching a new program that will expand their joint efforts to combat counterfeit drug sales throughout the developing world.
The Promoting the Quality of Medicines (PQM) Program, a five-year, $35 million cooperative agreement, will involve a variety of different activities in Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa. For example, the PQM program will:
- Establish the first large-scale continuous monitoring program for medicines quality in Africa, Asia and Latin America
- Build capacity in Asia to address gaps in medicines quality assurance
- Assist the Global Drug Facility in efforts to increase the availability of good quality second-line anti-tuberculosis (TB) medicines at affordable prices
“Substandard and counterfeit medicines represent a threat to public health worldwide but pose a particular problem in developing countries, where lack of financial, technical and other resources make it difficult to protect the drug supply chains,” said Gloria Steele, USAID acting assistant administrator for Global Health. “Such medicines undermine decades of investments in public health. Without good quality, safe medicines to treat diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, the impact of other health initiatives is severely weakened if not negated completely. The PQM Program focuses on this critical aspect of combating these diseases.”
The rapid globalization of pharmaceutical/medical products supply chains has created significant challenges for companies, regulatory agencies, the greater health care community –and for patients, too. Kudos to USAID and USP for stepping up to help protect drug supply chains developing countries. Counterfeit medicines now pose a significant threat to public health, and it’s clear that we’re going to be seeing more and more programs and projects like this one, aimed at mitigating these risks.
