The Peterson Group Review: Profits too High, Penalty too Low

The issues of counterfeit medicines have increased steadily in complexity and organization. The proliferation of fake, falsified and substandard medicines has tragic consequences, which until now has been considered a crime against humanity.

Let’s turn our focus on the continent of Africa where millions were victimized by anti-malarial drug before they found out that the medicine includes substances and chemicals which are hazardous to human health.

A raid was held in 16 ports in both the east and west coasts of Africa last July which allowed the World Customs Organization and other independent non-profit agencies to seize more than $82 million worth of illicit medicines from which the counterfeits are created and copied from. Fake cough syrups, anti-parasitic and anti-malarial drugs as well as contraceptives were seized from fraudsters who admitted to have been in illegal operation for more than 5 years.

This operation, however, exposed the negligence of the government to counter the widespread of the issue in the country. The Peterson Group, one of the non-profit organizations who took part in the raid, noted the weak system of the agencies in charge of licensing and regulating drugs. This factor is the same issue being faced in cities with the most number of counterfeited medicines. Jakarta, Indonesia and Beijing, China are both being asked to reform their own health agencies and consider the suggestions of experts under the review of World Health Organization (WHO). Africa is about to face the same verdict.

Lack of training, insufficient manpower and corruption often plague national regulatory agencies which are the same issues with the abovementioned cities.

Furthermore, government inspectors frequently accept bribes and kick-backs to allow the fake drugs to pass borders, gaining their own profit. ROI of these illegal dealings even reach billions of dollars annually.

The WHO is helping countries develop the expertise needed to regulate drugs. Drug registration, also called marketing authorization or product licensing, is a thorough evaluation to ensure a drug is safe for consumption.

Manufacturing, storage and distribution must also follow strict guidelines. Without registration, the drugs cannot be marketed.

To fast-track registration, the WHO encourages national regulatory authorities to choose medicines from its list of pre-qualified products. But it’s up to the individual countries to decide to register a product or not.

The government of Africa is now considering giving WHO the total control as long as the autonomy between countries is not broken.