Turkish Government to Delay Implementation of Barcode System to Stamp Out counterfeit Drugs

Initiative officially delayed until October, but industry experts anticipate the process to be pushed back further.

The Turkish newspaper, Today’s Zaman recently published a story about the implementation of a drug tracking barcode system in place to combat counterfeit drug in Turkey. However since the publication of the article, pressure from pharmacies has delayed the implementation from July to October. Most industry experts expect the delays to go beyond the October schedule because of the significant costs to small dispensing pharmacies.

According to the article:

• Turkey is identified as being one of the largest global purveyors of counterfeit drugs.


• The ambitious tracking system, which industry insiders estimate has already cost more than $200 million this year alone in the run-up to its implementation, has been fraught with difficulties.


• Dr. Roger Bate in last week's Journal of the American Enterprise Institute, his limited study of a small sample of drugs in the US purchased over the Internet revealed that Turkey is the largest single supplier of drugs bought online in the US. He documented a number of raids in Turkey that revealed all aspects of the counterfeit drug trade -- importers and local manufacturers of counterfeit products, wholesale distributors repackaging fake and old medicines that should have been destroyed and printers making packaging for the manufacturers. “The products I have seen,” he told Today's Zaman, “were manufactured by large Western companies in Turkey for the Turkish market which were diverted -- possibly illegally -- to the US by Internet sellers.”


• The implementation of this system is also meant to act as a prevention of fraud against the medical insurance system, which is being defrauded by unscrupulous doctors and pharmacists hungry to take advantage of the easily cheated system.


• Pharmaceutical companies -- the ones whose pocket books are arguably most affected by the proliferation of counterfeit drugs in Turkey -- have been amongst those who were resisting the implementation of the barcode system.

Most have said that this program which is slated to use a GS1-compliant 2D barcode will cost the country over $150m per year. The delay in this program is seen as a major setback to companies who tout track and trace technologies as the answer to counterfeit and adulterated medications.

XStream endorses all solutions to the issue of counterfeit, adulterated and diverted medications and believes that a comprehensive suite of technologies are necessary to adequately protect the global pharmaceutical supply chain. XStream believes that autentication and verification of the contents of the unit of sale, which is available via its XT250, is a critically important componant to securing medications from production to dispensing.

To read the entire article, access the link below:
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-184271-105-barcode-system-to-stamp-out-counterfeit-drugs.html

To learn more about the XT250 visit us at:

http://www.xstreamsystems.net/

China News: UN Concerned About Clandestine Drugs Manufacturing in Guinea

In an article which appeared in chinanews.cn on August 5th, the United Nations is quoted as voicing concern over evidence recently uncovered in Guinea, suggesting that clandestine narcotics operations are producing illicit drugs on a large scale in the small West African country.

Here are some of the significant points from the UN:

• UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters that the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Interpol, investigated a haul of chemicals seized by government forces in mid-July, revealed quantities far in excess of the legitimate demands of the country.


• "Among the evidence -- the best found by the UN in West Africa to date -- were tools for making counterfeit antibiotics, substances used to produce ecstasy, and solvents commonly used in cocaine and heroin processing," Montas said.

The UNODC launched an initiative last month to tackle the scourge in the region, which sees 1 billion U.S. dollars worth of cocaine pass through its borders annually.

To read the report online: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/06/content_11834912.htm

DEA: Black Market Steroids

In a presentation to the Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives in Norfolk, Virginia in July, Joseph Rannazzisi, Deputy Assistant Administrator at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Office of Diversion Control made a presentation on Anabolic Steroids, Performance Enhancing Drugs and Dietary Supplements.

In his presentation, Mr. Rannazzisi disclosed an important statistic related to counterfeit products:

“Significant quantities of counterfeit steroids are available on the black market. Based on seizure statistics, this number could be 15% or higher.”

Obviously the implications as a healthcare related issue are significant even for illicit or black market goods.

US Anti-Depressant Market Drives Counterfeit Medications

By: Alan Clock, Senior Vice President, XStream Systems

An article printed in the August issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry has been reported on by every major US media outlet. The crux of the article centers on the statistic that “about 10 percent of Americans -- or 27 million people -- were taking antidepressants in 2005. This was double the number from the same study in 1996.

This surge in prescriptions vaulted anti-depressants, as a therapeutic class of pharmaceuticals, to become some of the top selling medications in the United States. Although the data used in the study is no longer tracked, it is presumed the number of Americans using anti-depressants continues to climb at a steady rate.

Most of the stories and reporting of this study has primarily focused on the prescribing and demographics of the study but as an additional take for Secure Pharma Chain Blog, we consider the proliferation as a correlation to anti-depressants now becoming, as a therapeutic class of pharmaceuticals, some of the most highly counterfeited and adulterated drugs both in the United States and worldwide.

In nearly every study, regulatory or published report within the United States and abroad, anti-depressants are among the top in value and in volume, highly counterfeited and adulterated drugs.

Clearly this is not a huge revelation, the cost of these medications are high, the number of people who take these medications is high and the issue regarding the wish for patients to conceal that they are taking these medications have led to many concealing their efforts to procure these products.

In many cases, it is difficult for the patient or health care provider to discover that they are not taking the proper prescribed therapy because of the nature of the illness that it is intended to relieve. Most patients will never realize that their drugs are counterfeit at all and will attribute their ineffectiveness to other issues.

As the market for anti-depressants continues to climb so will the need for patients and providers to diligently seek out authentic medications.

Here are a few thoughts on how to protect you and your family as a patient against counterfeit medications:

• Always buy pharmaceuticals from a trusted, brick and mortar, licensed pharmacy in your community.


• If you purchase from the internet, only purchase from sites that are sponsored by a licensed, established pharmacy like a retail chain or from site that is verified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.


• Never, ever purchase prescription drugs from an internet site or a pharmacy that does require a prescription from your physician. Sites that offer a physician prescription on-line are not legitimate.


• Carefully examine your medications for differences in size, color, consistency and taste. If you notice any differences immediately notify your pharmacist or physician.

The best way to protect you and your family from counterfeit medications is that if the price or the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is and you should not purchase those drugs.

Realize that in this world where a criminal individual or enterprise can make far more money with far less risk by manufacturing, distributing and selling counterfeit medications than in selling illicit drugs, everyone needs to be on guard against this crime that will impact your health and the health of your family.

COMBATING THE SPREAD OF FAKE DRUGS

In the June 28, 2009 Online Issue Daily Policy Digest, the National Center for Policy Analysis highlights a very relevant policy document titled, "Keeping It Real: Combating the Spread of Fake Drugs in Poor Countries" by Julian Harris, Philip Stevens and Julian Morris of the International Policy Network.

XStream endorses the primary assertion that one of the most effective ways in combating this international problem is for the private sector of the pharmaceutical supply chain to take advantage of its innovative capacity to experiment with various technological solutions that enable it to protect the identity of its products. Members of the pharmaceutical supply chain need to utilize a variety of technologies, like XStream’s XT250 solution which allows the end user to verify and authenticate medications inside its sealed manufacturer’s unit of sale container without destroying or degrading the material.

The text of the Daily Policy Digest review on "Keeping It Real":

Counterfeit and substandard drugs are a serious and growing problem around the world -- especially in less developed countries. These fake drugs pose three direct threats to patients: failure to provide effective treatment; adulteration with toxic chemicals, often leading to death or injury; and if a drug contains some active ingredient but too little to kill all the disease agents, it can lead to the emergence of drug resistant strains of disease.

These problems are caused in large part by a combination of defective legal systems and government-imposed distortions of the pharmaceuticals market, say researchers at the International Policy Network:

Poor countries tend to have highly inefficient, slow and expensive legal systems, which makes it very difficult for people to be assured of the quality of the medicines they purchase.

Lack of enforceable trademarks and civil liability are instances of a wider problem; in such an environment, legal decisions tend to be arbitrary and designed to benefit the elite.

Price control measures, like tariffs, on imported medicines are very common in poor countries and drive up the price of high quality medicines creating opportunities for suppliers of fakes, who can then more easily undercut them.

Tariffs can also lead to unnecessary delays in ports, where improper storage conditions can cause drugs degrade.

However, bolstering the rule of law is a long term process in many countries. In the short-term, the private sector should take advantage of its innovative capacity to experiment with various technological solutions that enable it to protect the identity of its products. Governments, meanwhile, should reduce those interventions which undermine the supply of quality drugs, such as taxes, tariffs, price controls and other arbitrary regulations, say researchers.

Source: Julian Harris, Philip Stevens and Julian Morris, "Keeping it Real: Combating the spread of fake drugs in poor," International Policy Network, 2009.

The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization, established in 1983. The NCPA's goal is to develop and promote private alternatives to government regulation and control, solving problems by relying on the strength of the competitive, entrepreneurial private sector.

To read the entire piece by Harris, Stevens and Morris, follow the link below:
http://policynetwork.net/uploaded/pdf/keeping_it_real_2009.pdf

GOOD and PLENTY

Charles R. Earl, M.A., ABD
CEO, Communication Connections

No, we’re not discussing the licorice candy that resembles cold treatment capsules. Rather, “good and plenty” could be used to describe the current state of the global and national pharmaceutical industry. Just review an episode of “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” to get a sense of how pharmaceuticals have progressed in the last 150 years. Dr. Quinn was generally limited to coal oil (a kerosene derivative), cod liver oil, mustard plaster and various bi-products of opium for her medicines. Local residents without the benefit of a knowledgeable physician were forced to purchase their pharmaceutical products from traveling medicine wagons (often ineffective, generally risky), or to form their own medicines after foraging the land.

The point of this exercise is that Today’s pharmaceuticals are more plentiful and effective than ever would have been imagined in the past. With success, however, comes temptation. As pharmaceutical remedies have become more prevalent, so have the opportunities for fraud and misuse. Individuals have discerned that they can substitute worthless copies for effective drugs and reap enormous profits from resale either in the legitimate supply chain or from illicit sales “on the street.” Unethical entities have also discovered that they can exchange slight variations in certain compounds that dramatically lower the cost of production and…radically undermine the effectiveness of the product, thus placing the well-being and lives of patients in peril.

So, while the availability of effective pharmaceuticals is “good and plenty,” the nefarious schemes by unscrupulous characters can severely affect the value of the products and seriously erode public confidence in the industry. This diminished faith will impact every link in the pharmaceutical supply chain. If patients and end users suspect the reliability of the pharmaceutical industry, then they may become more apt to seek their remedies from the back pages of various supermarket magazines. This type of activity would be the 21st Century version of medicine-show purchasing and foraging. While some “quack” remedies may have a short-term “placebo” effect, the long-term consequences will be unfavorable for patients and the industry.

At every step in the pharmaceutical supply chain, industry representatives must do everything possible to insure that the product has not been substituted or changed. Each and every patient, each and every dispenser, each and every handler of the product must have confidence in its efficacy. One old axiom states that “if you want something done right, do it yourself.” When examining the issue of medical safety, that axiom is warranted.