Scientists find a third of malaria drugs in Southeast Asia are fake

A third of malaria drugs in Southeast Asia have been found to be fake. Picture: Supplied Supplied

May 22, 2012
AFP

MORE than a third of malaria drugs examined by scientists in Southeast Asia were fake, doctors have warned.

"These findings are a wake-up call demanding a series of interventions to better define and eliminate both criminal production and poor manufacturing of anti malarial drugs," said Joel Breman of the Fogarty International Center at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Trawling through surveys and published literature, the researchers found that in seven Southeast Asian countries, 36 per cent of 1,437 samples, from five categories of drugs were counterfeit.

Thirty per cent of the samples failed a test of their pharmaceutical ingredients.

Cambodia making progress in war against fake medicines

27-Jan-2011
Staff reporter
Securing Pharma

Cambodia's pharmaceutical market has long been undermined by rampant medicine counterfeiting, but a recent effort by the government to stamp out illegal pharmacies is having a positive impact, according to Business Monitor International.

Along with fake medicines, corruption and political stagnation pegged the country's drug market down to a tiny $170m in 2009. However, over the last couple of years around 65 per cent of the country's illegal pharmacies have been shut down, says BMI in its latest report on the country's drug market.

The report also cites an October 2010 medicine sampling study which found only 3 per cent of medicines sold in urban and rural pharmacies were fake, although up to 9 per cent failed quality testing (see also Cambodian study finds 3 per cent of medicines are counterfeit).

While BMI believes pharmaceutical market growth could top 10 per cent over the next five years, those forecasts carry quite a lot of risk from "the lack of political and social stability, especially in the face of widespread corruption and - more recently - violations of land rights by government officials."

Court orders detention of the pharmaceutical company chairman

Thursday, December 20, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

On 19 December, the Phnom Penh municipal court issued a detention order in Prey Sar jail against the pharmaceutical company chairman involved in importing medicines to Cambodia, under the charge of falsifying the quality of expired medicines. 38-year-old Khartik Sahay, an Indian holding a Canadian citizenship, was arrested by the police on 17 December after a search in the company revealed proofs of medicines quality falsification. Judge Suon Samnang of the Phnom Penh municipal court, issued an arrest warrant of Khartik Sahay, and ordered his jailing in Prey Sar prison while waiting for the investigation in this case of falsifying the quality of expired medicines. Khartik Sahay could face severe penalties is he is found guilty.

More than 2,000 unlicensed pharmacies in Cambodia

Friday, December 07, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

An official from the Ministry of Health (MoH) told a local newspaper that, currently, there are more than 3,000 pharmacies in Cambodia, but among those, only 1,000 of them have proper licenses, and the other 2,000 do not have valid license. Prem Noron, deputy chairman of the MoH food and drugs department, told the Koh Santepheap newspaper about this issue while he was attending a seminar on drug management in Phnom Penh of 06 December. Prem Noron also indicated that, separately, in Phnom Penh city, there are more than 100 pharmacies which do not have license issued to them yet, and on this issue, the committee for fighting against fake drugs will take appropriate measures. He also said that, currently, the main problems faced by the MoH are: unlicensed pharmacy, the trafficking of fake and banned drugs, and contraband medicines. The MoH is also facing with criticisms leveled by the public saying this ministry does not pay attention to these issues.