Report: Common Action Needed Against Fake, Substandard Drugs

By Alan, on February 14th, 2013

(USA.gov)

A report from the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academies in the U.S., calls for a new agreement on an international code of practice on drug quality to counter the growing health risks from illegimiate medicines. Among the recommendations in the report are a mandatory drug tracking system and tightening the licensing requirements on U.S. drug wholesalers.
Fake and substandard medicines not only fail to provide the protection or relief promised on the drug labels, says the report, they also can expose patients to dangerous medical conditions. An example is the recent case in the U.S. of a compounding pharmacy in Massachusetts that produced a medication that sickened more than 600 people and killing 44. In addition, fake versions of the cancer drug Avastin appeared in the United States in 2011 and 2012

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