|
Friday, July 29th, 2005
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) today
said that the discovery of a quantity of counterfeit medicines appears
to be an isolated incident but that it would back a further tightening
of the supply system for medicines.
The entire supply chain in the UK is regulated by the Government's
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and
all those concerned in it - from manufacturer to wholesaler to pharmacy
- have to be licensed and are subject to regulation and inspection.
"This means that counterfeiting of medicines in the UK is extremely
rare - this is only the fourth such case in the past 10 years -
but, because patient safety is of paramount concern, it is important
that the system is examined to see where it can be further tightened,"
said Dr Richard Barker, Director General of the ABPI.
"Two possible weak areas in the system are internet pharmacies,
which often operate from centres outside the UK, and through parallel
trading, where medicines are not only shunted backwards and forwards
across Europe by the traders but are often opened up and repackaged.
"All medicines should reach the patient in the manufacturer's
original packaging - product integrity must be maintained. The simpler
the system, the less likely it is to provide opportunities for criminals."
|
