“Are They Real!?”

Counterfeits Can Kill!

Brought To You By….

Your Quality Assured Wholesaler1 (242) 393-4854 Fax 1 (242) 394-0533Email – nalpharm@batelnet.bs

“The Emerging Crime of the 21st Century”

Counterfeit Drugs!!

WHATS REAL AND WHATS NOT?

Can you really tell?

WHATS REAL AND WHATS NOT?

Can you really tell?

Counterfeit Medicine: A medicine that is

deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled with respect to identity

and source.

Counterfeit Products May Include Products With:

The correct ingredients, Wrong ingredients, Without active ingredients, With incorrect quantity of active

ingredient or With fake packaging

FACTS AND FIGURES

WHO survey between 1992 and 1994 revealed that 51% of counterfeit cases had no

active ingredient

25% of medicines used in developing countries are

counterfeit or substandard

Counterfeit medicines generate $32 billion a year in sales for Drug

Dealers

200,000 counterfeit bottles of Lipitor made their way onto

the US in 2003

5% of all antibiotics sold worldwide are

counterfeit!

The Extent of The Problem

WHO figures suggest that developing countries account for 60% of all

reported cases of counterfeit and

substandard drugs

Counterfeit drugs in developing countries are

generally life saving and not lifestyle drugs, such as

malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS

WHO survey of counterfeit medicines in 20 countries between January 1999 and October 2000 found that in60% of the 325 cases an

active ingredient was missing

pain killers, antimalarials, anti-asthma, anti-allergy, antibiotics, hormones and steroids

In 2003 WHO reported that fake drugs between 1999 and 2002 included:

51% of counterfeit cases had no active ingredient

17% contained the wrong ingredient 11% contained weaker than

recommended concentrations of active ingredient

WHO survey in 1992 and 1994 revealed that:

weak drug regulation control and enforcement,

scarcity or unreliable supply of basic medicines,

unregulated markets and high cost of medicines

Trade in counterfeit medicines is more prevalent in countries with:

Internet Purchasing

Internet Pharmacies have facilitated the sale of fake

medicines.

Some of these pharmacies do not require a

prescription to sell medicines and can

endanger the patient’s life

THE CONSEQUENCES Treatment Failures, Erosion of public confidence in health care, Prolonged illness, Unexpected and Dangerous side effects, Antimicrobial resistance Economic Hardship on Authorized and Ethical

Distributors Negative Effect on the countries Economy DEATH!

The Weakest Link in Pharmaceutical Counterfeiting

is………

The Supply Chain

Manufacturering Plant

Warehouse

Authorized Distributor

Retail Pharmacy

PATIENT

“Until the government takes action to restrict the number of times a prescription drug product is bought and sold among WHOLESALERS, the nation will continue to be susceptible to counterfeit drug problem.”

Eric Turkewitz, a New York City lawyer.

“A drug distribution system that includes thousands of wholesalers is like having "thousands of windows and doors for the criminals to get in….Especially when there are people inside the house who will be conveniently leaving the windows and doors open"

Eric Turkewitz

Major Problem…..

Current laws in many countries does not prevent anyone from bringing in a product to sell, that a distributor has been given exclusive distributorship to by the manufacturer.

This disrupts the safe distribution chain and increases the chance of sub-standard and/or counterfeit drugs entering the country.

Benefits of a Proper Chain of Distribution…….

Proper recall procedures Constant Supplies Proper Labeling Quality Control

(Storage/Packaging/Expiry) Positive Economic benefits for the

country e.g.. Authorized supplier paying taxes, duties, salaries, national insurance contributions etc.

Contributions of AUTHORIZED and reputable Wholesalers…….

Employment/Salaries National Insurance Contributions Customs Duties Real Property Tax Educational Seminars International Sponsorships Samples & Literature

Contributions of UNAUTHORIZED and disreputable Wholesalers…….

CHEAP BUT “QUESTIONABLE” DRUGS

TO THE RETAILER AND CUSTOMER

Questions to ask when purchasing a drug…. If this product is recalled, will you

be notified? If the answer is no, DON’T BUY IT! Will the government purchase this

product? If the answer is no, DON’T BUY IT

• Did it come to you through the authorized channels?

If the answer is no, DON’T BUY IT

Questions to ask when purchasing a drug…. Is the price too good to be true?  If the answer is yes, DON’T BUY IT Is the label in English?  (You owe

your patient the respect of having a label he/she can read!)

If the answer is no, DON’T BUY IT Is this drug being diverted? If the answer is yes, DON’T BUY IT!

Questions to ask when purchasing a drug…. Can the quality be guaranteed? If the answer is no, DON’T BUY IT!

Can you guarantee previous storage conditions or expiry date?

If the answer is no, DON’T BUY IT!

Do you have product liability from the authorized distributor?

If the answer is no, DON’T BUY IT!

Could this be a counterfeit or fake drug? If the answer is yes, DON’T BUY IT!

Remember!........The Weakest Link in

PharmaceuticalCounterfeiting is….

THE SUPPLY CHAIN

Purchase brands only from authorized Distributors!

Do not break the chain!

Your Quality Assured Wholesaler1 (242) 393-4854 Fax 1 (242) 394-0533Email – nalpharm@batelnet.bs

You are now eligible to enter and win $500 toward the educational

seminar of your choice!

Simply email us at nalpharm@batelnet.bs and complete the following sentence:

The Weakest Link in Pharmaceutical

Counterfeiting is….Note

This offer is restricted only to Pharmacists currently practing in The Bahamas

Deadline for Submission of Entry

June 30th 2005

Winner will be announced July 1st, 2005