Counterfeit clippings: global news round-up

Our latest round-up of counterfeit news items from around the world covers counterfeit medicine trends in Argentina, plus a shortage of inspectors in India and updates from the USA, Antigua and Ghana.

Cancer, HIV and haemophilia medicines are among the most counterfeited medical products in Argentina, according to an article on medicamentosseguros.com based on an interview with a representative of the country's regulatory authority ANMAT. Maria Jose Sanchez, who coordinates the agency's activities against illicit medicines, says there has however been a decrease in the number of bans imposed on medical products between 2009 and 2010. She ascribes this to more coordinated and effective actions by regulatory and enforcement authorities in intercepting illegal products in the market.

India is facing an acute shortage of drug inspectors, hampering its efforts to interrupt the trade in substandard, counterfeit or spurious medicines, says a report in the Times of India newspaper. The country's Central Drug Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) estimates that the nation requires 3,200 inspectors but only has about 900 in service. A recruitment drive is planned.

A man in the USA has been changed on three counts of purchasing counterfeit medicines through the mail and selling them in the Nashville area, according to a US Department of Justice press release. A criminal information filed on August 17 charged Clark with selling counterfeit drugs with intent to mislead and defraud, trafficking in counterfeit goods, and using a fictitious name on mail parcels to carry on the unlawful business of selling counterfeit drugs. Clark faces a maximum sentence of 18 years in prison and a $2.5m fine if convicted of all charges.

Caribbean and Latin American countries are becoming hubs in the international trafficking of counterfeit medicines, according to a report on the Caribarena.com website, citing pharmacists meeting at a convention in Antigua. The Caribbean is used a trans-shipment point for counterfeit drugs heading for other destinations in the same way as the narcotics trade, according to Antigua Pharmaceutical Society president Algernon Roberts.

The appointment of senior officials in regulatory authorities must be 'de-politicised' to enable them to tackle serious health problems such as counterfeit medicines, says Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, a member of the Select Committee on Health in Ghana's Parliament, in an interview on Joy FM radio. Dr. Opoku Prempeh is planning to submit a paper on the issue of fake drugs to parliament when it reconvenes after the holiday break.