Trade body urges pharma manufacturers to review anti-counterfeiting plans

Pharmaceutical manufacturers are being urged to review their anti-counterfeiting plans ahead of the possible failure by the UK government to agree on a Brexit deal with the EU. Global trade body International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) said the UK could see a flood of counterfeit medicines after the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) ceases to apply at the end of the Brexit transition period on 1 January 2021. Since early 2019, the FMD utilizes mandatory safety features and an EU-wide database to help stem fake or counterfeit medicines, which could endanger lives and reach people. The FMD will cease to apply if there’s no deal, leaving the UK with no access to the EU database except in Northern Ireland, where the directive will continue to apply. Interpol, Europol, and national medicines agencies seize many falsified medicines and close hundreds of illegal websites every year. Indeed, a report published by Europol’s Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in 2019 estimates that counterfeit medicines cost the EU pharmaceutical sector more than EUR 10 billion (US$ 11.3 billion) annually in lost…

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