Sanofi-Aventis calls for ‘effective’ anti-counterfeiting

At the first European parliamentary symposium discussing the issue of drug counterfeiting earlier this week, Sanofi-Aventis has called for the introduction of an effective policy to tackle this problem.

Issues considered at the meeting included measures taken in Europe and internationally against the production of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, industry plans to secure the supply chain to prevent the counterfeiting of drugs and new technological systems that can aid in this struggle.

Sanofi-Aventis states that the prevalence of fake pharmaceuticals results in a risk to public health, while manufacturers of both generic and novel products are concerned about this danger.

The firm recommends the prosecution of counterfeiters, while noting that the parallel trade used to sell these products in Europe puts the continent in a position to take a leading role on this issue.

Jean Francois Dehecq, chairman of Sanofi-Aventis, said: “For too long, we have underestimated the drug counterfeiting situation.

“It used to be marginal, now it is totally industrialised.”

He added that medication is dissimilar from other products, with the stringent system marketing authorisation ensuring safety and efficacy of pharmaceuticals, while counterfeit drug manufacturers do not respect this structure.

Earlier this week, Pfizer expressed concern regarding the counterfeit drug trade, reporting that fake drugs have entered the legitimate supply chain of medical products in Europe.