Media Reports on Medicines Quality - US Pharmacopeial Convention

Harare police arrested at least 50 people – including 6 doctors
and the director of Deseret International, an NGO focusing on
HIV/AIDS – for distributing expired medicines to clinics.
ASIA AND NEAR EAST
Afghanistan In the past 18 months, the Pharmacy Affairs Department has
seized approximately 200 tonnes of counterfeit medicine.
Bangladesh Antibiotics, others
Burma (see
Myanmar)
Cambodia
Homeopathic
medicines
Chloroquine
phosphate,
The government’s Public Health and Drug Testing Laboratory
tested 5,000 samples of medicines this year, revealing that 6%
(300) were counterfeit or substandard. Many of these products
were antibiotics or other life-saving medicines.
The Rapid Action Battalion raided a factory in the Babubazar
area of Dhaka, arrested five people, and confiscated materials
used in the manufacture of spurious medicines.
The Rapid Action Battalion sealed a fake drug factory at
Nagarzanj of Keraniganj Upazila in Dhaka.
Veng Thai, Director of the Phnom Penh Municipal Department
of Health, estimates that only 2-3% of medicines sold in the city
are expired or fake. A recent inspection of 500 medicines booths
in Phnom Penh found 3-4 fake medical items. According to
Veng Thai, rural areas have a much higher rate of substandard
medicines. Dr. Yim Yann, President of the Pharmacists
Association of Cambodia (PAC), said that after inspecting
medicines in pharmacies, PAC found that approximately 20-
40% of medicines are unregistered with the Ministry of Health.
Out of 243 medicine samples tested in January 2009, 4 failed
laboratory testing: chloroquine phosphate, amoxicillin,
Accessed November 9, 2009
Laiton, C. More people arrested over expired
drugs. News Day. Jun 16, 2010. Available at:
www.newsday.co.zw Accessed Jun 25, 2010
Fake medicine floods market – Ministry.
Quqnoos.com. Nov 5, 2008. Available at:
www.quqnoos.com Accessed: Nov 6, 2008
Bangladesh carrying heavy counterfeit medicine
burden. Securing Pharma. Sep 23, 2010.
Available at: www.securingpharma.com
Accessed Sep 29, 2010
Rahman, K. Counterfeit homeopathy drugs. The
Financial Express. Oct 25, 2010. Available at:
www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com Accessed Oct
25, 2010
Fake drug factory seized in Old Dhaka. BDNews
24. Dec 7, 2010. Available at:
www.bdnews24.com Accessed Dec 13, 2010
Sovan, N and Yin, C. Bad medicine floods
countryside. The Phnom Penh Post. July 25,
2008. Available at: www.phnompenhpost.com
Accessed: July 29, 2008
Medicine quality monitoring program in the
Mekong region (2009). U.S. Pharmacopeia Drug
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