While the concept of “fake news” continues to trigger Twitter followers and grab headlines, the trade in counterfeit drugs is a worldwide problem of significant scale. The article in the link discusses the problem and talks about some things trademark owners are doing to address the public safety issues posed by fake drugs.
Crimson Tide Plc (LON:TIDE) CEO Barry Whipp wrote:
“I have heard some awful stories regarding the impact of counterfeiting in the pharma industry . To focus on two areas, the issue of sugar pills as “contraceptives” and a solution of molasses being consumed as “antimalarials” are both horrendous situations with (somewhat) obvious consequences.
The pharma industry is struggling to implement track and trace solutions which deal with end to end data management of medicines. I think that the struggle will continue indefinitely unless governments, the industry, regulators et al commit to some real world solutions, not theoretical and unrealistic goals.
We have worked with APEC and a worldwide regulatory organisation and have successfully traced fake medicines in a number of locations in Africa and Asia. Our solution is tactical and is producing real benefits, identifying counterfeits on a smartphone by medical professionals on location.
I am a passionate believer that tactical solutions can be rolled out quickly , effectively and show real return on investment as well as , in the extreme, saving lives.
RX360 , (http://rx-360.org/) where Crimson Tide is a member, is a great advocate for patient safety, and their work really allows “big pharma” to make “big changes” to protect and enhance the supply chain .”
