Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 - (Page 8) An uphill struggle for European pharma Reflector ponders recent events in the battle against counterfeit drugs S ometimes you just have to feel sorry for the European pharmaceutical industry. It tries and tries and tries to obtain that long-sought level playing field so that it can up its game and keep scoring in international competition. Because the pitch is often sloped against it, and it often finds itself playing into the wind as well as uphill, each of its occasional successes is a real triumph of heroism over adversity. Sometimes, as it struggles to improve the conditions it has to operate, it just goes wrong. It has just gone horribly wrong for the industry’s long-running battle to combat counterfeit drugs. The European industry’s campaign to beat fraudsters is just reaching its climax. As this column recently remarked, it is one of the current priorities for the industry. Discussions are underway right now in the European Union institutions about how to combat counterfeiters. The industry was starting to feel that its efforts were at last paying off, with European lawmakers coming round to its point of view, and exploring ways of tightening up the trade rules. Then Dutch customs officers moved in on shipments of medicines in transit in its ports and airports, and held some of them for up to a month while they investigated whether they were counterfeit. They were not counterfeit, it emerged. On the contrary, the evidence was that they were bona fide medicines. Some were manufactured in India and being shipped to supply urgent needs in Brazil. Others were destined for Colombia and Peru. The seizures also included a shipment bound for Nigeria ordered by UN drug purchasing agency UNITAID, and involving former US President Clinton’s foundation. They were generic medicines, but there was no demonstration that they were counterfeit. 1 NEWS 2 FROM THE EDITOR / NEWS 6 CRITICAL VISION 14 CALENDAR 8 BRUSSELS REPORT 10 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY 12 MANAGEMENT THEORY 13 NEWS 15 ON THE MOVE
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 From the Editor News Critical Vision Brussels Report Corporate Responsbility Management Theory Calendar On the Move Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 - Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 (Page 1) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 - From the Editor (Page 2) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 - News (Page 3) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 - News (Page 4) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 - News (Page 5) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 - Critical Vision (Page 6) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 - Critical Vision (Page 7) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 - Brussels Report (Page 8) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 - Brussels Report (Page 9) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 - Corporate Responsbility (Page 10) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 - Corporate Responsbility (Page 11) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 - Management Theory (Page 12) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 - Management Theory (Page 13) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 - Calendar (Page 14) Pharmaceutical Executive Digest Europe - March 25, 2009 - On the Move (Page 15)
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.