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Weekly Update | January 10, 2010 |
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Maharshtra FDA Uses Internet To Monitor Pharmacies
Following Gujarat's example, the Maharashta Food and Drug Administration (Maha FDA) launched an online licensing process for retail pharmacists, the first of its kind in the state.
"Maharashtra FDA has adopted the similar features of Gujarat FDCA and has already started the facility from the month of December itself, said O Sadhwani joint commissioner Maha FDA, adding that the use of the internet will allow the FDA to provide pharmacists with quick access to drugs withdrawn from the market, as well as keep them informed of license renewals, reports India's Pharmabiz.
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Maharastra is the second most populous Indian state, as well as the wealthiest. Mumbai, the capital city of the state, is India's largest city and the financial capital of the nation.
"The database has already started and the data entry made by the Drug Inspectors across Maharashtra, from Mumbai and Thane should be well edited," he said adding that the facility will also be used to license drug manufacturers and for drug inspectors to monitor drug quality and authenticity. This web-based software links to all the district offices and will be used to monitor and control pharmacists and pharmaceuticals across the state.
In addition to this new technology, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has started sending SMS alerts to chemists.
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Top News
Bangkok Police Focusing on Deadly Counterfeit Items, Like Fake Drugs, in 2011 In an interview with the Bangkok Post, Police Colonel Pravesana Mulpramook, director of the Department of Special Investigation's (DSI) Intellectual Property Crime Bureau, said that 2011 is the year for them to focus on fake drug distribution within Thailand. ''Many products are imported from China, such as medicine and especially cosmetics, which are in demand because they are 10 times cheaper than the original. Many people using them will damage their appearances, or, in the case of medicines in particular, their health,'' he said. ''This is my top priority,'' reported The Post. The US Trade Representative (USTR) Office's has identified Thailand as a high priority watch for the past four years, and despite its efforts to battle fakes, noted that "piracy and counterfeiting remain widespread." Pantip Plaza, Khlong Thom, Saphan Lek, and Ban Mor shopping areas, MBK, as well as the commercial districts of Patpong, wider Silom, and Sukhumvit were identified as "notorious markets" for fake goods. (Partnership for Safe Medicines, January 4, 2011; Link here)
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World News
India: Madras High Court Upholds Spurious Drug Sellers Detention
In Chennai, India, the Madras High Court, one of the three high courts of India, justices heard a petition from 13 defendants accused of re-selling expired medicines. The 13 defendants had submitted written petitions challenging their detention, which was dismissed by the Justices Elipe Dharmarao and D Hariparanthaman who said that the detainees alleged crimes were shocking and posed a danger to public health. "The detention orders passed in these cases are precise, pertinent, proximate and relevant, without any vagueness or staleness," the bench observed. They added that the concern for public health and general society weighed heavily against the defendants' release, reported the Times of India. The detainees are accused of collecting expired medicine and returning them to the pharmaceutical retail market as valid drugs by altering the batch numbers and expiration dates. (Partnership for Safe Medicines, December 30, 2010; Link here)
Morocco: Officials Initiate Counterfeit Drug Inspections
Moroccan health officials are working with the fraud prevention departments within the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Internal Affairs to increase drug store inspections. The Health Minister, Yasmina Baddou, told parliament on November 24th that the inter-ministry cooperation will try to stop drugs being sold outside the legal market and to raise public awareness of the health dangers of fake drug consumption, reported Magharebia on December 28th, 2010. The Health Ministry reminded parliament that all medicines produced in Morocco, as well as those imported legally, comply with regulations, and are subject to testing by The National Laboratory for the Examination of Medicines to ensure that drugs quality standards. (Partnership for Safe Medicines, December 29, 2010; Link here)
Hong Kong Customs Shames Counterfeiters
The Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department has promised to crack down on fake drug sellers and publicly publish the name of pharmacies and retails who are caught with them. Thomas Lin Shun-yin, head of investigations for the Department of Intellectual Property said that while the number of raw number of fake drugs seized in 2010 is less than in 2009, the street value of said products rose 50%, reported the Hong Kong Standard. In 2009, 46 cases were investigated, while only 22 were in 2010, however with an increase in total value of HK$1.62 million. In relation to these twenty-two cases, 37 people have been arrested. Lin said that the counterfeiters had packaged the drugs such that they were difficult to identify. (Partnership for Safe Medicines, December 28, 2010; Link here)
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Events
ExL Pharma's Life Sciences Serialization & Traceability For Brand Management When: Jan 24 - 25 2011 Where: Philadelphia, PA Description: A summit with the key-stakeholders from the pharmaceutical supply chain to discuss a strategy for addressing three different, yet intertwined, areas - counterfeiting, brand protection and regulatory compliance. With international requirements already in place in countries like Turkey and France and potential federal mandates on the horizon here in the U.S., development of a mandatory compliant (fully serialized and pedigree-ready) supply chain is on the radar. View the full conference program. |
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About the Partnership for Safe Medicines
The Partnership for Safe Medicines is a group of organizations and individuals that have policies, procedures, or programs to protect consumers from counterfeit or contraband medicines. For more information, please visit SafeMedicines.org.
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