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Efforts on to Curb Entry of Counterfeit Drugs
DUBAI — Use of newer technology may be the next step in tracking and controlling entry of counterfeit drugs in the UAE, say health officials.
Screening drugs at the ports of entry using high-end technology as well as equipping pharmacists with tools that can verify original drugs from fake ones are among the several steps that the health authorities in the country are taking to counter the menace of counterfeit drugs.
A coding system has already been established in Abu Dhabi to identify each medical product while forensic analysis of suspicious drug samples is made to check the product and trace its origin, said Dr Mohammed Abu Elkhair, Head, Pharma/Medicine and Medical Products Regulation Section, Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD).
Nearly one per cent of fake medicines detected in the European Union comes via the UAE.
In 2007, $5.4 million worth of medicines were seized by local authorities in the region’s largest such raid.
Besides, the UAE relies on imports for 80 per cent of the medicine needs.
Though authorities use different means of cutting down on the organised crime, including hiring of private investigation companies to help law enforcement agencies, use of technology by far remains the most reliable method to trace drug origins.
“We have collaboration between different government entities to curb the crime at the ports of entry.
Health inspectors also check consignments at borders but use of technology is a more sophisticated method of verifying the products,” he said during the Regional Conference on Fighting Counterfeit Medicine.
Shedding light on the long-term technological plans of the health authority, Dr Elkhair said in a pilot project starting in 2010, distributors in Abu Dhabi will have to affix a pricing sticker to each consignment and seal the drug for the pharmacists for safety purposes.
“The pharmacists can scan the drug using a scanner provided by the authority and be able to tell if the medicine is genuine or not,” he explained.
In a similar move, all pharmacists in Abu Dhabi will be required to order drugs online so that the origin of the medicine can be verified.
“Whatever is bought or sold, from the distributor to the customer, will be recorded online so that the regulatory authority can verify the origin of the medicine.”
Among other technological systems, governments all over the world are using seals, serial numbers and holograms to protect genuine medicines.
“The pharmaceutical industry knows the benefits of identification systems when detecting counterfeits and verifying raw materials,” said Brian Mayo, president and chief technical officer of US-based Xstream Systems.
“Customs and border patrol can detect and identify targeted substances being brought into the country by using such systems,” he said, adding that the machines scan the molecular structure of the sample and collect its ‘fingerprint’.
Differentiating a fake from an original may be difficult for a customer who is last in the supply chain, said Ashley How, regional director of Pharmaceutical Security Institute.
“The pricing factor is important. Consumers should question as to why the medicine is being offered at a price lower than it should be,” he said.
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