News in brief

Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals chief gets 4 years for import violations

05-Feb-2009 - Jared Wheat the owner of Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals has been sentenced to four years in prison and fined $3m (€2.3m) by the US Courts for importing unauthorised and adulterated pharmaceutical products.

XStream’s X250 help distributors see through fakes

05-Feb-2009 - Authentication and track and trace methods, like pedigree, should be combined to provide layers of protection against counterfeit drugs according to XStream Systems’ CEO Brian Mayo.

Alpvision stresses importance of brand authenticity

02-Feb-2009 - As the sophistication of counterfeit drug packaging continues to improve it is becoming harder and harder to tell real products from fake. in-PharmaTechnologist spoke with Alpvision's Roland Meylan about the company's approach to brand authentication.

WHO mulls comments from counterfeiting talks

02-Feb-2009 - The WHO’s review of comments during a discussion of plans to redefine “counterfeit” will focus on “public health impacts of substandard, spurious, and falsely labelled products,” according to the organisation.

WHO delays “counterfeit” redefinition plan

28-Jan-2009 - The WHO has delayed its controversial EB 124/14 amendment that would, according to some groups, broaden the organisation’s definition of “counterfeit” from its current focus on patient health to include infringements of intellectual property.

FDA wants standardised drug pack numbering

20-Jan-2009 - The FDA is calling for all drugs to be labelled using a standardised numerical identifier (SNI) similar to the one suggested in the delayed California e-Pedigree guidelines in a bid to tighten up supply chain security.

EU action yields record counterfeit haul

18-Dec-2008 - The European Union’s coordinated clamp down on counterfeit drugs has resulted in hauls far exceeding expectations, with 34m pills seized in two months.

Pharmaceutical package: no repackaging ban, but shift towards DTC

11-Dec-2008 - The European Union’s long-awaited reform of pharmaceutical regulations known as the ‘pharmaceutical package’ was unveiled yesterday after months of consultation and debate.

Delays to track and trace laws affect Domino

10-Dec-2008 - Efforts to sure-up pharma track and trace rules and combat counterfeiting are a significant opportunity for specialist labelling firms, but the pace of change is proving to be a frustration, according to Domino Printing Sciences MD, Nigel Bond.

News in brief

DEG poisoning claims yet more victims in Nigeria

03-Dec-2008 - Diethyleneglycol (DEG) has reared its ugly head again, causing up to 25 deaths in Nigeria so far this year according to a November 28 article on the allAfrica.com website.

NAFDAC blacklists 22 drug fakers

28-Oct-2008 - The NAFDAC has banned 22 firms that it says are involved in the manufacture of fake drugs from ever again selling pharmaceuticals in Nigeria, as part of a countrywide clampdown.

Handheld device for validating raw materials

29-Sep-2008 - Ahura Scientific has launched an updated version of its TruScan handheld instrument, which allows for raw materials to be quickly verified.

Anti-counterfeiting news in brief

04-Aug-2008 - in-PharmaTechnologist.com's round-up of developments in the fight against counterfeiting, including Movianto’s ‘DNA’ coding, e-pedigree packaging machinery and a new handheld device.

West African conference to eradicate counterfeits

24-Jul-2008 - West African states are meeting to devise a plan for cleaning up their tarnished reputations with regards to the flow of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in the region.

Four years in prison for counterfeiter

21-Jul-2008 - A man has been sentenced in the US to four years imprisonment for trafficking 38,000 counterfeit Viagra (sildenafil citrate) tablets with a wholesale value of $400,000.

Parallel traders EU counterfeiting response

30-Jun-2008 - Parallel traders have hit back at some of the EU Commission's anti-counterfeiting measures and big pharma's support for them.

Counterfeiting conference to hear of burden in developing world

26-Jun-2008 - Visiongain's third annual conference on Pharmaceutical Anti-counterfeiting Strategies kicks off next week, covering many aspects of the problem from technological deterrents, regulatory developments in the EU and US and the implications for parallel trade.

NanoEncryption anti-counterfeiting gains FDA approval

24-Jun-2008 - The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved NanoEncryption technology, a method for applying anti-counterfeit measures to dosage forms.

EU counterfeiting response is far from generic

23-Jun-2008 - Continuing in the series analysing the industries response to the EU's counterfeiting measures in-PharmaTechnologist.com tackles the generic industry's reply.

EU's API anti-counterfeiting measures insufficient

16-Jun-2008 - DSM and the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) have criticised the European Commission's proposals for tackling counterfeit active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

PSI reports 24% jump in counterfeits

12-Jun-2008 - Seizures of counterfeit medicines shot-up by 24 per cent in 2007, according to the latest figures from the Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI).

Weekly comment

Big pharma responds to EU anti-counterfeiting

09-Jun-2008 - Big pharma's responses to the European Commission's proposals for tackling counterfeiting have thrown up a diverse range of viewpoints.

EMEA ideas for preventing heparin-like contaminations

09-Jun-2008 - The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has urged for greater international cooperation as it outlined how to prevent a repeat of the heparin crisis.

EU publishes responses to anti-counterfeit proposals

05-Jun-2008 - The European Commission has published the responses to its proposals for tackling the problem posed by counterfeit medicines.