At a working group meeting of the Hyperledger blockchain project today, a representative for global professional services company Accenture pitched the early phases of a project designed to fight the spread of
counterfeit drugs using blockchain technology.
Ultimately, the technology is hoped to be used to diagnose diseases in a non invasive way and be used to analyze
counterfeit drugs and powders.
Know what to do if You Get Sick or Injured while Traveling Watch out for
Counterfeit Drugs while you're traveling
Travelers with existing medical conditions should verify that they have enough medicines for their trip and watch out for
counterfeit drugs if they do run short.
The latter often sell unapproved and / or
counterfeit drugs, make fraudulent claims, dispense medications without prescriptions and pass off expired drugs.i
Some websites sell unapproved or
counterfeit drugs, make fraudulent claims, sell prescription drugs without requiring a prescription, or sell expired drugs.
Various chemicals coated on the paper react with ingredients in the drug to form colors, resulting in a «color bar code» that can then be compared to known samples of filler materials commonly used in
counterfeit drugs, as well as active pharmaceutical ingredients.
«The number of deaths from
counterfeit drugs is unknown,» Waldron says, «but given the scale of the trade, the risks are considerable.»
«If you consider the morbidity and mortality caused by the scourge of
counterfeit drugs, it is an urgent problem that requires a global response,» says Jim Hayward, the CEO of Applied DNA Sciences.
Produced by diverse universities and institutions across the country and world, the supplement investigates the quality of vital, broadly sold drugs, such as anti-malarials and antibiotics; new tests and assays to detect
counterfeit drugs; and proposed policy changes and laws to reduce the distribution and sale of falsified medications.
According to a 2000 World Health Organization report, almost one - third of identified
counterfeit drugs contained no active ingredient; and more than 20 percent either had incorrect quantities of active ingredients or contained the wrong ingredients.
In 2010
counterfeit drugs made up a $ 75 - billion industry, one that only seems to be growing.
Along with this, there is also the risk of
counterfeit drugs being introduced into the supply chain.
Counterfeit drugs are estimated to make up as much as 30 % of medicines in some developing countries and cost legitimate pharmaceutical companies up to $ 200 billion per year.
Speaking at an Inter-Agency Forum on Strategies for Countering
Counterfeit Drugs and Substance in Accra on Monday, the Minister said, «the recent issues on the abuse of drugs including tramadol and codeine has become a national threat.
An Indian government think tank is working on a blockchain solution aimed to combat the country's roaring
counterfeit drugs trade.
According to Living Goods, clients may also be reluctant to buy drugs from other private providers because of the risk of getting a counterfeit medicine.63 Living Goods sent us a study conducted at the midline of its RCT that claims that both availability of
counterfeit drugs and drug prices decreased at private retailers in areas where CHPs worked.64 According to the study, about 37 % of private drug shops in the areas it studied sold fake ACT drugs, 65 and availabilty of fake ACTs was about 50 % lower among non-Living Goods sellers in the areas where Living Goods worked.66 Additional results on these potential effects will be made available when the full RCT is published.
Additionally, there is a major international problem with
counterfeit drugs.
Researchers at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government reported in 2013 that in regions with Living Goods distributors, the price of malaria medicine in local shops dropped by nearly 20 percent and incidence of
counterfeit drugs fell by half.
He argues the FDA and pharmaceutical industry are doing Americans a disservice by failing to distinguish the certified sites from the thousands of rogue online operations that sell fake or
counterfeit drugs.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)-- Some of the pills taken from Prince's estate in Paisley Park after his death were
counterfeit drugs that actually contained fentanyl — a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin, an official close to the investigation said.
PharmaSecure
Counterfeit drugs are a big problem in the developing world.
He learned about West Africa's
counterfeit drug epidemic while at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College; his Ph.D. research eventually yielded an embryonic version of the MPA service.
As a result,
counterfeit drug makers often swap whatever they're claiming to sell for fentanyl.
The UC San Diego study looked at the depth of
counterfeit drug penetration in global legitimate medicine supply chains.
Sildenafil citrate, better known by its trade name, Viagra, and the two other erectile dysfunction drugs, Cialis and Levitra, are among the most
counterfeited drugs in the world.»
Asia and India take the lion's share of
the counterfeit drug trade.
Only purchase drugs from licensed pharmacies and be sure to get a receipt (for your travel insurance claim and / or to report
counterfeit drug sales if the drug proves to be a fake).
Not exact matches
On this side of the 49th parallel, the cash problem isn't so much tax evasion and
drug dealing as
counterfeiting.
Former U.K. trading standards officer Stuart Shotten argues that this is because food
counterfeiting sentences tend to be half as strict as
drug charges.
According to the World Health Organization, up to 30 percent of
drugs sold in emerging nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America are
counterfeit.
In July, the DEA released a report warning of
counterfeit fentanyl pills disguised as common prescription
drugs like Norco (hydrocodone), Percocet (oxycodone), and Xanax (alprazolam).
Middle Eastern transnational criminal organizations typically engage in automobile theft, financial fraud, money laundering, interstate transportation of stolen property, smuggling,
drug trafficking, document fraud, health care fraud, identity fraud, cigarette smuggling, trademark
counterfeiting and sales of
counterfeit goods, and the theft and redistribution of infant formula.
It seems that half the countries on the planet are involved in guerrilla conflict,
drug smuggling, nuclear weapons testing, and
counterfeiting Disney DVDs.
The Marchesini Group has signed a 48 % acquisition of SEA Vision, a leading creator of vision and inspection systems used in Quality Control and
Drug Counterfeiting.
«To achieve this, all the states in northern Nigeria, should establish and strengthen the state task force on
counterfeit and fake
drugs and unwholesome processed foods, revoke all land titles where
drugs are being sold and review the laws to provide stiff penalties for offenders.
Plateau State NDLEA commander, Ibrahim Braji, who paraded them, also handed over
counterfeit and expired
drugs of about 5, 580 kg seized from a suspect named Jude Okoye Okeke, aka Zuma to National Agency for Food and
Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Ondo State Joint Task Force on
counterfeit, Fake
Drugs and Unwholesome processed Food has clamped down on some Pharmaceutical stores in Akure who sell fake and...
Kano state government has approved over N60 million as operational funds and allowances, for the state Task force on Fake,
Counterfeit, Adulterated, Illicit
drugs...
The
Drug Enforcement Agency earlier this year released a report on the «global threat» of
counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl, which is often mixed with heroin.
Although it remains to be seen whether eBay can effectively police its users, the company does keep a running blotter on eBay.com chronicling its efforts to help law enforcement catch people who use the site for illegal transactions, including selling
counterfeit items, peddling illegal
drugs or fencing stolen goods.
An Interpol campaign has netted 9.9 million doses of
counterfeit pharmaceuticals offered online, including fake antibiotics and cancer
drugs
Scientists believe this may have to do with the misuse of
drugs there and the widespread availability of underdose and
counterfeit therapies.
They had taken
counterfeit erection - inducing
drugs that contained glyburide, a
drug to treat diabetes.
«Given a health - care system lacking decent equipment, qualified staff and affordable
drugs (rather than the more popular
counterfeit ones), a lack of faith in Western medicine is understandable.
Tablets, injections, and drops are convenient ways to administer life - saving medicine — but there is no way to tell what's in them just by looking, and that makes
drugs relatively easy to
counterfeit.
In the summer of 2015, Interpol launched a coordinated campaign in 115 countries during which millions of
counterfeit medicines with an estimated value of $ 81 million were seized, including everything from eye drops and tanning lotion to antidepressants and fertility
drugs.
Generic
drugs contain the same type and dose of active ingredient as a branded product and have undergone clinical trials, and they, too, can be
counterfeited.
Even though the incidence of
drug counterfeiting is very hard to estimate, it is certainly a global problem.
In fact,
counterfeiting can affect any
drug, and although the main targets, particularly in Europe and North America, have historically been «lifestyle
drugs» such as Viagra and weight loss products, fake versions of cancer
drugs, antidepressants, anti-Malaria
drugs and even medical devices are increasingly reported.