EDQM unveils falsified medicines database

The European Directorate on the Quality of Medicines and Healthcare (EDQM) has set up a database of falsified medicines information for sharing between health and law enforcement agencies.

The Know-X database will collate information on counterfeit and falsified medicines that have been detected in the 47 member states that are included within the Council of Europe (CoE), a bloc representing some 820m citizens.

The database is restricted and requests for access will be vetted by the EDQM. Only requests from officials working for a CoE health or law enforcement authority, or another country that has signed up to the 2011 Medicrime Convention, or a member of the European network of Official Medicines Control Laboratories (OMCLs) will be considered.

The database contains details on closed cases of falsification, technical information on the testing performed, the authorities involved and what actions were taken, says the EDQM, which notes: "it is intended to provide governments with decision aids for the management and prevention of specific risks."

Other projects at the EDQM on counterfeit medicines include its eTACT traceability pilot, which aims to set up a pan-European system to track medicines from manufacturer to patient, even if products are ordered over the Internet, as well as a project to develop a series of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) 'fingerprints' that can be used during inspection testing.