Counterfeit medicines do not affect only expensive products from Big pharma, this is a misconception. The pharmaceutical companies of medium size are also affected by this phenomenon, as evidenced by the company Desitin in Hamburg, Germany. The company reported a counterfeit medicine, the Petnidan (Ethosuximide) which is an antiepileptic drug packaged in 250 ml bottle. Written information in German was presented and differences from the genuine were showed. There is no evidence yet that this counterfeit product is marketed in Germany. The company has recalled the batch X514.
The Drug Commission of German Pharmacists has also revealed a case with 570 packs of Calcium Sandoz® D Osteo and 120 chewable tablets (batch FK7278) that had been stolen during transportion. These products may have been illegally introduced into the distribution chain.
Facing the increased risk of counterfeiting, the European Commission has set up a traceability system with Datamatrix 2D codes as part of the application of the “ Falsified Medicines Directive“. All the pharmaceutical companies must now implement these adjustments
.
[1] See the news on “Falsified Medicines directive is going to change the pharmaceutic market”. Ajouter le lien vers l’actualité de cette semaine (page 2).