INSTITUTE/ INTRODUCTION

To be efficient, the fight against counterfeit drugs at the international level must go beyond repressive measures to include more and more targeted and concerted actions in the fields of information, prevention and training. This is one of the fundamental reasons behind the creation of the Institute .

In the space of a few years, the counterfeiting of health products has reached particularly worrying proportions.
According to expert estimates, false drug trafficking now represents about 10% of the world market (FDA sources) and has became the most lucrative source of financing for organized crime.
In the face of this scourge which directly threatens the health of hundreds of thousands of people and is endangering global health, the creation of a universal centre specially dedicated to the fight against health product counterfeiting emerged as a necessity.
Created with this ambition in 2010, the international Institute of Research against Counterfeit Medicine (IRACM) is today the only independent international organization that is exclusively dedicated to the fight against counterfeiting and falsification of drugs, primarily through awareness-raising and training. The IRACM, an initiative of the Sanofi group, is a French association governed by the 1901 Act advocating in the fields of information, prevention and training.
Its actions are complementary to other enforcement measures led by specialized national and transnational organizations such as Interpol and the World Customs Organization, who are also partners of the Institute.

Our missions

The missions of the Institute are:
•to inform and educate as many people as possible about the risks (health, economic, legal,…) related to the counterfeiting of medicines and health products.
•to train and federate the stakeholders (doctors, pharmacists, customs officers, police agents, health regulators…) engaged in the fight against the traffic of fake drugs.
•to centralize knowledge, good practices and know-how in the fight against counterfeit drugs.
•to serve as a proactive interlocutor and advisory body proposing advice and solutions to national and international political and judiciary authorities.

Our tools

Located in Paris, the Institute is organized into three main departments:

•a training centre offering courses to all the actors involved in the fight against the counterfeiting of health products. They are taught by professionals who are recognized for the quality of their expertise in their specialty. The Institute also proposes training sessions in other countries and participates in actions of training and awareness-raising carried out by other agencies.
•a documentation centre with an enormous inventory of studies, books, brochures, newspapers and other manuscripts or digital documents relating to the theme of counterfeit health products.
•a co-operative research centre open to all French and foreign organizations and actors involved in the fight against the counterfeiting of medicines and health products.