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War on fake drugs


 March 29, 2018

President Duterte has now included in his famed drug war the fake or counterfeit drugs.

Counterfeit drugs, as defined in Republic Act 8203 otherwise known as Special Law on Counterfeit Drugs, are products with the wrong or contaminated ingredients, with the correct ingredients but not in their required amounts, or without the active ingredients resulting to decreased drug safety, efficacy, quality, strength or purity. Counterfeit medicines can also be defined as mislabeled or with fake packaging, and can apply to both generic and branded products. To boot, these drugs are not registered with the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and did not go through validation and standard tests to confirm their quality, safety, and efficacy.

Counterfeiting drugs is a global problem, a big business worth billions of dollars, targeting mostly developing countries like the Philippines. It is a massive trend to criminals but it is also a public health risk and an alarming concern to the government and health professionals. The people behind it simply take advantage of the good and established reputation of products and their manufacturers. Selling or offering for sale of such is a violation of R.A. 8203 and FDA Act of 2009. It is also against intellectual property.

Among the wide-spread counterfeited drugs are the over-the-counter drugs such as paracetamol. In the country, this medication is commonly used for pain or fever and is famously seen in huge advertisements. Imagine yourself taking this drug only for your headache but it did not bring about a therapeutic effect on you rather a harmful effect. What is supposed to be a pain-reliever could have caused you hospitalization or worse, death. On the other hand, if the counterfeit drugs are antibiotics, they might contribute greatly to antibiotic resistance, which is another global health concern with the threat that we are running out of effective antibiotics because of their misuse or abuse.

Even so, there are many ways to identify an authentic drug from the fake one. Just like the new coins released by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the physical signs serve as markers to distinguish if counterfeit or not. These include the color of both the drug and its packaging; the appearance of foil and other parts of the the packaging such as logo, lot number, and expiration date; and the existence of security features such as hologram. If uncertain, better yet buy the medication from an establishment with a license to operate from the FDA. Be in two minds if the price is lower than usual, especially when it is found online. It is important to understand the difference because it is the first step in the war against fake drugs.

Many experts believe that poor regulatory and surveillance systems, both in the governmental and industrial sectors, are the cause of this phenomenon. And it is good to know that more attention and awareness is bestowed on war on fake drugs. These products are not supposed to be lurking around after all. Pharmaceutical security matters. Public health security also matters..

This war on fake drugs is, hence, a war worth fighting. We have to act now before fake dominates the market.

*****
Teresa May B. Bandiola, 27, is a licensed pharmacist and an instructor at Far Eastern University-NRMF’s School of Pharmacy. She is currently finishing her graduate study at the University of Santo Tomas. 

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