Brief: 35 per cent of Guyana medicines are fake

An investigator working for GlaxoSmithKline has said up to a third of all medicines imported into Guyana are counterfeit.

The Latin American nation – nestled between Venezuela, Brazil and Suriname – is one of the most exposed countries in the region to fake medicines, along with Haiti, Trinidad and Jamaica, according to Allan Barrette. It may serve as a trans-shipment location for counterfeits coming in and out of South America, he told the Guyana Guardian.

"A large percentage of almost every medicinal drug in Guyana is fake," according to Barrette, who says the Guyana government and private individuals are importing "more than 80 per cent of their medicines from India, and to a lesser extent, Brazil."

He says the fake pharmaceuticals are responsible for hundreds of deaths annually, but the cause of the fatalities is often attributed to the illness itself or treatment.