Production of counterfeit, fake and substandard medicines is generally stealing the trademark and logo of famous pharma companies, both innovators like Pfizer and GSK, and generics like Unilab, then selling those fakes. Patients and their family/guardians think that they are buying the real products of these known companies and the patients end up getting some adverse side effects, or they don't get cured and the disease in their body mutate or expand into something more serious. So counterfeits is costly in terms of expanding the treatment, and can be fatal.
As an advocate of rule of law as the main function of government, I believe that government, both national and local units, should be serious in fighting this crime because it endangers public health. This is a more useful function that imposing drug price control and mandatory, forced priced discounts for senior citizens and perons with disabilities (PWDs). Of what use to certain sectors are cheap, forcibly discounted medicines, if they some of them are fake and substandard and hence, can cause more health problems? Declining prices of medicines and healthcare can be done by having more competition among more pharma players, among drugstores and hospitals, among physicians and other health professionals.
The topics and speakers for today's event are:
1. Keynote Address by DOH Assistant Secretary, Atty. Nicolas Lutero, OIC
of the FDA.
2. "Global Perspectives on Counterfeiting Medicines and the
Current WHO Initiatives on SSFFC" by Mr. Michael Deats, Group
Lead, SSFFC Medical Products Safety and Vigilance Essential Medicines and
Health Products, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland
3. "A Multistakeholder Approach to
Strengthening Community Advocacy for Safe and Quality Medicines (Highlights of
the MeTA Discussion Series)" by Ms. Cecilia C.
Sison, Country Coordinator, Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA)
Philippines
4. "Impact of counterfeit medicines
to public health and patient safety" by Dr. Maria Minerva P. Calimag, President
of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA)
5. "Counterfeiting and its impact
to national security and public safety" by Mr. Eric McCloughlin, Deputy Attaché,
Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE), US Embassy in Manila
6. "Understanding the problem and
working together to combat counterfeit medicines" by Mr. Samson Chiu, Director,
Asia-Pacific Region, Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI)
7. "Food and Drug
Administration process and initiatives in combatting counterfeit medicines" by Ms.
Maria Lourdes C. Santiago, OIC, Center for Drug Regulation and Research
8. "Enforcement Policies and
Regulations on Medicines Anti-Counterfeiting" by Atty. Edna Valenzuela, Senior
Assistant State Prosecutor, Department of Justice (DOJ)
9. "Initiatives of Intellectual
Property Office of the Philippines in combatting counterfeit medicines" by Atty.
Ricardo Blancaflor, Director General, Intellectual Property Office of the
Philippines (IPO)
10. Industry’s effort in combatting
counterfeit medicines proliferation:
Best Practices in private
industry enforcement programs to stop counterfeit medicines from endangering
public
a. Mr. Tetsuda Ikeda, Director
Global Security, Asia Pacific Region, Pfizer, Inc.
b. Mr. Teodoro Padilla, Executive
Director, Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP)
c. Ms. Dolora P. Cardinal, Head,
Public Affairs Committee-FDA, Philippine Chamber of the Pharmaceutical
Industry, Inc. (PCPI)
Closing remarks by Dr. Ariel I.
Valencia, FDA Deputy Director General for Field Regulatory Operations
Meanwhile, some materials on counterfeit medicines I found several years ago:
1. Coalition Against Fake Medicines Launched
The medicines we take for day-to-day ailments and life-threatening conditions should make us feel better or save our lives. But because of the presence of counterfeit medicines in the country today, we should be cautious as to the medicines we buy.
This was the warning issued by the Department of Health (DOH), which noted that about ten percent of medicines bought in pharmacies today are fakes. Fake medicines, which are not registered with the Bureau of Food and Drugs, may be useless, harmful, or even deadly.
This dangerously widespread occurrence pushed similarly-minded government agencies, and private institutions to form a coalition group to help combat and eventually eliminate this illegal trade. The Coalition Against Fake Medicines is composed of ten organizations - the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Justice (DOJ), Philippine Medical Association (PMA), Drugstores Association of the Philippines (DSAP), Mercury Drug Corporation, Zuellig Pharma Corporation, GMA 7 Broadcast Network, Philippine Daily Inquirer and Pfizer. Inc..
Seated from left are Celia Carlos, President, Drugstores Association of the Philippines; Hon. J. Norman Jocson, Assistant Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry; Hon. Manuel Dayrit, Secretary, Department of Health; Rey Gerardo Bacarro, President and Country Manager, Pfizer, Inc; Hon. Macabangkit Lanto, Undersecretary, Department of Justice; and Michael Becker, President and CEO, Zuellig Pharma Corporation.
2. From The News Today, 2006.
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See also:
IPR and Medicines 27: More on Glivec and India's SC Decision, April 02, 2013
IPR and Medicines 28: Politicizing Innovation, Rewarding Rent-Seeking, April 06, 2013
IPR and Medicines 29: Parallel Importation and Patent Linkage, August 19, 2014
IPR and Medicines 30: R&D and Innovator Companies, November 03, 2014
See also:
IPR and Medicines 27: More on Glivec and India's SC Decision, April 02, 2013
IPR and Medicines 28: Politicizing Innovation, Rewarding Rent-Seeking, April 06, 2013
IPR and Medicines 29: Parallel Importation and Patent Linkage, August 19, 2014
IPR and Medicines 30: R&D and Innovator Companies, November 03, 2014
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