Counterfeit Drugs - growing at epidemic proportions

I have spent many years working with pharmaceutical manufacturers - and more recently biotech companies - in the effort to create Safe, Secure and Efficient Supply Chains. During the course of the projects I have worked on - and the critical supply chain issues that I have researched - I have discovered a myriad of risk factors that ‘plague’ this industry. High cost and time from discovery to production, degradation of product through poor handling, storage and transportation, bad inventory control practices resulting in product expiring on the warehouse shelf - and being destroyed…. The list goes on.

Recently I have spent time researching the issue of counterfeit and diverted Life Sciences products. What I have uncovered is literally chilling - this is a growing global issue. In addition, the counterfeiters are extremely competent - not only at the diversion of legitimate drugs, the production of counterfeit product and repackaging of adulterated drugs - they are masters at the art of Supply Chain Management. In many cases the time from the ‘theft’ - or other diversion - of product, to the time it is available ‘on the street’ - or over the Internet - sets a new record for transportation and distribution. And in many cases the channels used for the distribution of these ‘illegitimate’ products are perfectly legitimate - they have been infiltrated with such skill that it is difficult to identify the ’scams’. 

Although the majority - in terms of percentages and number -  of counterfeit drugs are available in lesser developed countries this is still of major concern to everyone in the more developed countries. After all, people travel, exposing themselves to health hazards which are brought home as ’secret souvenirs’. And then there is the issue of thousands of people being treated for diseases like Tuberculosis and Malaria - in many cases with inert substances. This has a very dark side - these diseases can mutate and create global health threats. The Pandora’s box of illicit and counterfeit drugs is filled with both known and unknown dangers.

So what to do? As the expression goes - Forewarned is Forearmed - I invite you to read the report available on this site under the subject of Supply Chain Security. There are some words of advice that can assist in securing your own supply chain.

And for those of you who have a thirst for knowledge, there are many excellent resources available over the Internet. The following is a link to one report that I found of interest.

http://africanliberty.org/pdf/Keepingitreal.pdf

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