Features: Tackling counterfeit medicines
25 May 2009
The MHRA urges collaboration to tackle illegal internet pharmacies.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) urges stakeholder collaboration to tackle illegal internet pharmacies, as Chief Executive Professor Kent Woods explains.
'In recent years, there has been an explosion of websites offering medicines for sale online which has sparked much debate.
The risk of obtaining substandard or counterfeit medicines is significantly increased when prescription only medicines are purchased from unauthorised sources.
The MHRA is urging key stakeholders to assist in tackling these issues. Initiatives under way include raising awareness and providing 24-hour reporting hotlines.
New guidance
With the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) we have developed a guidance document for pharmacists and dispensing doctors on the subject of counterfeit medicines, including the dangers of purchasing medicine online.
In addition, an information leaflet for members of the public has been developed with an initial 600,000 being delivered in prescription bags through every pharmacy in Britain during May.
The RPSGB has introduced an internet pharmacy logo to help the public identify if a website is being operated by a bona fide pharmacy in Britain. More information is available at www.internetpharmacylogo.org.
Cinema campaign
The MHRA has also collaborated with Pfizer and patient groups to produce a hard-hitting cinema campaign designed to shock people into discussion about the dangers of obtaining medicine online.
The footage shows a man regurgitating a rat (to reflect a previous discovery of rat poison in a fake medicine) after taking a pill ordered online. It can be viewed at www.realdanger.co.uk.
We conduct a number of Internet Days of Action (IDA) per year which involve working alongside international regulators to take down websites acting illegally.
Media coverage is proactively pursued to help warn the public from online purchasing and discourage operators from such illegal activity. Deterrent sentences are always sought with substantial fines and the subsequent confiscation of illegitimate assets.
Successful prosecution
Results against illegal websites to date include the seizure of millions of pounds worth of unlicensed and fake medicines leading to 18 successful prosecutions and the closure of numerous websites.
We are planning to meet with the GMC to develop our guidance for doctors on counterfeit medicines and to discuss ways to tighten current systems regarding the online supply of medicines.
A particular focus will be online consultations, which have far greater potential to be misused by patients unsuitable for a particular treatment and/or unscrupulous organisations that sell medicines with no healthcare professional being involved in the process.'