News Archive

• Don't let counterfeits distract from substandard drugs, says think tank

  10-Mar-10 - The dangers of substandard medicines are being ignored and policymakers must do more to ensure that patient safety is maintained, according to the Stockholm Network, a European think tank.

• Rx-360 warns of contamination in pharma chemical

  10-Mar-10 - Rx-360 reports that drugmakers are encountering contamination problems with tromethamine and related substances used in manufacturing.

• UK pilot shows serialisation and authentication in harmony

  05-Mar-10 - A pilot project that demonstrates the potential of pharmaceutical serialisation, tracking and authentication of drugs as they travel through the supply chain has been completed by SecureTrace, a consortium of UK companies.

• FDA promises a revamp of its criminal investigations unit

  05-Mar-10 - The FDA's unit for investigating counterfeit drugs, contaminated food and other criminal activities is suffering from a lack of oversight and operational review, according to the US government's General Accounting Office.

• Green light for Rx-360 audit sharing pilot

  05-Mar-10 - The pilot phase of an ambitious scheme aimed at allowing pharmaceutical manufacturers to share audits of suppliers has got underway, according to the Rx-360 consortium behind the project.

• Perrigo shipment stolen in Texas

  03-Mar-10 - US over-the-counter and generic drug company Perrigo suffered a full truckload (FTL) theft near Dallas, Texas, sometime in the last 24 hours, losing a shipment valued at some $400,000.

• Fujifilm launches anti-counterfeit label

  03-Mar-10 - Fujifilm has introduced what it claims is the world's first anti-counterfeit label that supports hidden, full-colour images and can be checked using a simple visual device.

• PQG unveils 'how to' guide for reducing supply chain risk

  02-Mar-10 - A new guide has been developed by the Pharmaceutical Quality Group to help drugmakers and their suppliers identify and manage risk in the supply chain.

• Bristol raids net £180,000-worth of counterfeit drugs

  01-Mar-10 - Police and MHRA officials in the UK have executed search warrants in Bristol, confiscating £180,000-worth of counterfeit medicines as well as cannabis plants valued at £40,000-£60,000.

• Thermo completes $145m Ahura Scientific purchase

  28-Feb-10 - Thermo Fisher has completed its $145m acquisition of Ahura Scientific, which makes the TruScan instrument for raw material verification and counterfeit detection.

• Pharmacists respond favourably to EFPIA's serialisation pilot

  26-Feb-10 - Additional results from EFPIA's serialisation and point-of-dispensing authentication pilot study in Sweden were unveiled this week, including feedback from the pharmacists who had used the system.

• Bilcare launches brand protection tech in USA

  26-Feb-10 - India-based company Bilcare has launched its brand protection technology - nonClonable - in the US market.

• Capsugel deal takes NanoGuardian up a gear

  26-Feb-10 - Capsugel licenses a technology from NanoGuardian that allows authentication and tracing of pharmaceutical formulations right down to the unit-dose level.

• Trevor Jones joins Aegate board

  25-Feb-10 - Pharma veteran Professor Trevor Jones has joined the board at point-of-dispensing authentication specialist Aegate.

• Canadian pharmacy operator loses license

  25-Feb-10 - Canadian Andrew Strempler has taken his name off the pharmacy register in his home state of Manitoba in the wake of a hearing at which centred on allegations of supplying illegal and fake medicines.

• Pharmaceutical theft: news in brief

  25-Feb-10 - A number of thefts - and recoveries - of pharmaceutical cargo and stocks have been reported in recent weeks, including cases involving GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis, Teva, Alcon, AstraZeneca and Baxter International.

• Covectra eyeing new industries and new markets

  19-Feb-10 - Brand security specialist Covectra has seen phenomenal growth in the last 12 months thanks to its pharma clients, and is now expanding into new sectors and geographies and adding to its technology base.

• Anticounterfeiting technology patent round-up

  18-Feb-10 - Our periodic round-up of recent patent awards in the area of anti-counterfeiting technologies includes developments from IBM, Microsoft, Secure Logistics Sweden, SABIC Innovative Plastics and Illumina.

• Nigeria convicts fake drug importer, closes rogue pharmacies

  18-Feb-10 - A court in Nigeria has convicted a drug importer, John Mbanude, of participating in the trade in counterfeit products, while the authorities have closed down more illegal pharmacies.

• DUSA Pharma suffers cargo theft

  18-Feb-10 - Generic drugmaker DUSA Pharmaceuticals suffered a cargo theft over the weekend of February 6-7 in Ohio, USA, losing a shipment of acne medication kits valued at approximately $320,000.

• UK Parliament issues report on drug counterfeiting

  18-Feb-10 - The UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) has compiled a report examining how the global trade in counterfeit medicines affects the UK and the technologies and policy options available to combat it.

• Google toughens up on online pharmacies

  17-Feb-10 - Google has made it harder for those peddling counterfeit medicines to advertise their wares via its paid-for search platform Adwords.

• EU illicit trade in medicines could top €10.5bn, says survey

  16-Feb-10 - A survey funded by Pfizer has found that one in five Europeans have bought a prescription medicine over the Internet without consulting a doctor, fuelling a market estimated at a massive €10.5bn.

• Study reveals scale of quality issues with antimalarials

  12-Feb-10 - The first results from a large-scale study of key antimalarial medicines in 10 sub-Saharan African countries reveal that a high percentage of these circulating on national markets are of substandard quality, according to USP.

• Americas seeing sharp rise in cargo theft

  12-Feb-10 - Cargo theft rates have increased dramatically in the Americas between January and December 2009, while in Europe and Asia rates have remained largely constant or in some cases have decreased.

• Mylan certified for supply chain security

  12-Feb-10 - Mylan has said that its main distribution facility in the USA has been accredited as guarding against the threat of counterfeit drugs entering the supply chain.

• Viewpoint:Tackling the means and motive in counterfeiting

  09-Feb-10 - Adam Scheer, authentication solutions expert at JDSU, argues that consumers should be given the tools to validate pharmaceutical packaging themselves.

• Germany next market for authentication specialist Aegate?

  09-Feb-10 - Germany could be the next country in Europe to roll out Aegate's point-of-dispensing authentication system for pharmaceuticals if a preliminary pilot implementation proves successful.

• FDA tightens border controls for drugs and food

  08-Feb-10 - FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg has announced new border screening initiative - PREDICT - designed to prevent contaminated food and medicines from entering the USA.

• GSK and eBay team up to fight fake Alli

  08-Feb-10 - GlaxoSmithKline has joined forces with eBay to try to remove online auctions peddling fake versions of its Alli weight loss drug.

• Cutting out the middleman: the rise of direct distribution in pharma

  05-Feb-10 - A new trend in the US pharmaceutical sector, restricted distribution, is providing new opportunities to companies providing technologies that track goods from the manufacturer to the consumer.

• EFPIA updates on Swedish serialisation project at Pharmapack

  05-Feb-10 - The pharmaceutical serialisation pilot currently ongoing in Sweden is progressing smoothly, said EFPIA's Jean-Marc Bobée at this week's Pharmapack exhibition.

• Management shuffle at T Ray Science

  05-Feb-10 - The chief technology officer of Canadian company T Ray Sciences, Dr. Daryoosh Saeedkia, has left the company. No reasons were given for Saeedkia's departure.

• New US general manager at Freightwatch

  05-Feb-10 - Logistics security company FreightWatch International has appointed Ronald Greene as general manager for US operations. Greene immediately assumes the role previously occupied by Barry Conlon, FreightWatch's newly appointed CEO.

• Turkish serialisation project misses yet another deadline

  03-Feb-10 - Turkey has missed its January 1 deadline for a serialised coding system for medicines because pharmacies have not implemented the system in time.

• EMA 'road map' outlines supply chain security plans

  03-Feb-10 - The latest five-year plan from the EMA makes specific reference to a number of supply chain security elements, with a greater emphasis on counterfeiting and substandard ingredients than earlier documents.

• Nigeria adopts SMS tech to thwart counterfeiters

  03-Feb-10 - In another bid to curb the circulation of counterfeit medicines, Nigeria's regulatory authority has launched a text messaging system which can be used to verify whether a drug is genuine or fake.

• Beauty shop owner jailed for giving fake Botox

  02-Feb-10 - The owner of a beauty salon in Washington, USA, has been sentenced to 13 months in prison after injecting customers with fake versions of two drugs which left some scarred for life.

• Police seize 20m fake drugs in Southeast Asia

  28-Jan-10 - An international police operation in Southeast Asia has resulted in the seizure of around 20 million fake and illegal medicines and the arrests of more than 30 people, according to Interpol.

• Risks of online ED drugs exposed

  28-Jan-10 - Buying potentially fake drugs for erectile dysfunction online may bring more than sexual disappointment. It could expose you to hazardous ingredients and leave conditions such as diabetes undiagnosed, warns a new study.

• Sanofi contractors use stolen API waste to make illegal drugs

  28-Jan-10 - The need for drugmakers to keep close tabs on their supply chains has been made apparent by a case in which contractors diverted material from a manufacturing process in order to make narcotics.

• USP completes maltitol sodium monograph revision

  25-Jan-10 - The US Pharmacopeia has published the proposed analytical method for detecting diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol contamination in the excipient maltitol sodium.

• Fake Alli delivers 'dangerous' dose of sibutramine

  24-Jan-10 - People taking fake versions of GSK's weight loss drug Alli risk exposing themselves to three times the recommended dose of sibutramine, says the FDA.

• Ahura Scientific bought by Thermo for $145m

  24-Jan-10 - Thermo Fisher has offered $145m in cash to acquire Ahura Scientific, which makes the TruScan device used for raw material verification and the detection of counterfeits.

• Centice bolsters PASS Rx sales team

  19-Jan-10 - Centice Corp, which makes and sells a medicine verification system called PASS Rx for use in retail and hospital pharmacies, has added to its sales team by hiring two new sales directors.

• Counterfeit OTC weight loss drug contains controlled drug

  19-Jan-10 - Fake versions of GSK's OTC weight-loss product Alli have been found to contain a powerful prescription-only medicine that raises significant safety concerns for consumers.

• J&J recalls more products for contamination

  19-Jan-10 - The unusual case of contamination that forced J&J to issue a major recall last month is more widespread than feared; FDA has censured the firm for not tackling the problem swiftly enough.

• Sildenafil citrate tablets seized at UK airport

  15-Jan-10 - A shipment of 80,000 sildenafil citrate tablets has been intercepted at Newcastle Airport in the UK by Border Agency officers.

• GS1 updates on serialisation model for US drug market

  15-Jan-10 - GS1 has started a programme aimed at simulating and troubleshooting track-and-trace systems as envisaged in California's 2015 pedigree requirements.

• Jordan pharmacy closures on the up

  15-Jan-10 - The Jordanian government closed down 75 pharmacies out of 304 that were found guilty of violating the law in 2009, according to a report on the Zawya.com news service.