Exclusive interview

Falsified APIs and gangsters in the pharma industry

12-Oct-2010 - Guy Villax, board member of the EFCG, talks falsified APIs, EU efforts to tackle the issue, and the presence of gangsters in the pharma industry in an in-PharmaTechnologist video interview.

US FTC OKs Rx-360 audits

20-Sep-2010 - The US FTC has given a positive advisory opinion to Rx-360’s shared audits and said the programme appears to offer “cognisable cost-saving and safety enhancing features”.

NQR for counterfeit detection on factory floor and at pharmacy

13-Sep-2010 - Scientists say counterfeit drug and ingredient detection using NQR could benefit both manufacturers and pharmacies.

Verayo, SkyeTek join for low-cost RFID authentication

09-Sep-2010 - Verayo and SkyeTek have partnered with GlobalPCCA to provide a low-cost RFID authentication system to fight counterfeits in Africa.

Swedish team use bomb detection tech to spot fake drugs

07-Sep-2010 - Drugmakers may soon have a soon be able to identify fake pharmaceuticals using a new technique based on principals originally developed to detect explosives

License adds anti-counterfeiting tech to ATL pharma labels

10-Aug-2010 - Label manufacturer ATL has licensed anti-counterfeiting technologies from Document Security Systems (DSS) to meet growing demand from pharma clients.

Bill strengthening FDA drug safety power enters congress

04-Aug-2010 - A bill to strengthen drug safety requirements and FDA powers has been introduced into the US congress.

Oracle adds ePedigree system to secure supply chain

28-Jul-2010 - Oracle has introduced an integrated mass-serialisation and pedigree application to improve pharma supply chain integrity.

Grant awarded for non-invasive counterfeit detection

27-Jul-2010 - Research into the use of quadrupole resonance spectroscopy (QR) for non-invasive, non-destructive detection of counterfeits has been boosted by a grant.

Suspect medicines seized by EU increased again in 2009

26-Jul-2010 - EU seizures of medicines suspected of infringing IP increased in 2009, with a total of almost 11.5m articles being detained.

Danish API audit plans criticised; harmonisation called for

22-Jul-2010 - Danish plans to develop its own guidelines for API audit reports have been criticised by a body that is calling for harmonisation across Europe.

iOWH boosts key ingredient supply in malaria treatments

13-Jul-2010 - The Institute for OneWorld Health (iOWH) has moved one step closer to supplying a key component of a malaria treatment on an industrial scale as it revealed details of its latest activities to bring the ingredient to regions in short supply.

Sanofi works to secure Egyptian drug supply chain

23-Jun-2010 - French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis continues to spearhead the fight for a more secure pharmaceutical supply chain by launching an anti-counterfeit medication initiative in Egypt.

Malaysia “an ideal location” for generics production; F&S

17-Jun-2010 - Malaysia is “an ideal location to manufacture generics”, according to F&S, and this could drive growth and investment in the country.

Industry has key role to play in COE anti-counterfeiting treaty

16-Jun-2010 - The role of the pharma industry in supporting the COE anti-counterfeiting treaty, which aims to criminalise activities, “cannot be underestimated”, according to a directorate member.

Global expansion desirable but problematic; UPS survey

16-Jun-2010 - Nearly half of healthcare supply chain executives are planning to expand into emerging markets in the next 18 months, according to a UPS survey, but are concerned about the process.

NAFDAC keen on new SMS anti-counterfeit results

03-Jun-2010 - An anti-counterfeiting pilot project in Nigeria, which uses a mobile authentication service (MAS) to validate genuine medication, has completed a 100-day pilot phase. Preliminary results suggest the scheme is well on the way to becoming an effective defence against counterfeit drugs and other products.

India, Thailand call on WHO to focus on quality not IP

19-May-2010 - India and Thailand have requested the WHO ends its involvement with IMPACT, which the countries believe has conflicts of interest, and begin a programme focused on quality, safety and efficacy.

IFMPA puts patients at heart of counterfeit drug fight

12-May-2010 - The IFMPA says that patients are the real victims of counterfeiters and has asked drugmakers to put this at the heart of their fight against fakers.

Eisai, Crest launch track and trace packaging machine

06-May-2010 - A track and trace packaging system designed to integrate into existing operations, bringing companies into compliance with new regulations, has been launched by Crest Solutions and Eisai Machinery.

USTR lists counterfeit drug hotspots in annual report

03-May-2010 - The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has expressed particular concern about the proliferation of counterfeit drugs in countries including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Russia.

USP, FDA must be proactive in updating monographs

27-Apr-2010 - The USP and FDA must work to identify counterfeited or intentionally adulterated products before they enter the healthcare system by collaborating on the modification of monographs, according to Margaret Hamburg.

EFPIA: 2D barcode anti-counterfeit pilot a success

19-Apr-2010 - The EFPIA has hailed its 2-D data matrix anti-counterfeiting pilot scheme as a success and hopes to convince governments and supply chain actors of benefits of the approach.

WHO drafts guidelines on starting material quality

30-Mar-2010 - The WHO has published its views on the production of starting materials in draft guidance which details recommendations to ensure product quality while keeping costs down.

Payne buys BP Labels secure pharma packaging biz

08-Mar-2010 - Payne Security has acquired BP Secure Solutions, adding the UK firm's roster of adhesive security labelling technologies to its drug industry offering.