Recently, the Ministry of Health has continuously issued warnings about counterfeit and poor quality drugs. Using counterfeit and poor quality drugs can make the disease worse, even endangering life.
Sophisticated production, difficult to detect
At the end of July 2024, the Drug Testing Center of Thanh Hoa and Binh Duong provinces discovered that the antibiotic Cefixime 200, batch numbers 04200623 and 28201123, did not meet quality requirements. The labels of these two drugs stated that the place of manufacture was Cuu Long Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company. However, a representative of Cuu Long Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company said that there were signs of differences between the drug sample kept at the unit and the drug sample tested, indicating that the tested drug was fake. In August 2023, this company issued a warning that Cefixime was counterfeit, advising consumers to be careful when buying.
Previously, District 10 Police (HCMC) had dismantled a ring of counterfeit medicine and disease prevention drugs in the area. The investigation determined that the ring of counterfeit medicine production and trading was led by Lu Phu Tham (born in 1980, residing in Ward 15, District 10), operating since the beginning of 2022. Through the search, the authorities seized 39 boxes of medicine containing 6,022 bottles of counterfeit medicine, without invoices or documents of origin. Searching the residences of the subjects and the warehouse, the authorities seized 109 boxes of medicine containing more than 100,000 blisters, boxes, bottles, and tubes of counterfeit medicine of all kinds; more than 35,000 boxes, stamps, and labels of counterfeit medicine; date printers, heat presses, and tools and equipment used to produce counterfeit medicine.
According to the World Health Organization, about 11% of medicines in developing countries are counterfeit, and may be the cause of the deaths of tens of thousands of children each year from diseases such as malaria or pneumonia. In Vietnam alone, the situation of counterfeit and poor quality medicines has recently increased, causing many people to worry. According to statistics from the Vietnam Pharmaceutical Business Association, most of the counterfeited new medicines are expensive antibiotics from famous pharmaceutical brands.
Counterfeit drugs are produced quite sophisticatedly, and can only be detected when comparing the packaging and instructions for use of real and fake drugs placed side by side. A representative of the market management agency stated that by conventional methods, it is not easy to accurately detect real and fake pharmaceuticals. Testing the ingredients and quality of drugs... is the optimal method to determine the authenticity of a product, but it requires a large amount of money and a long time to evaluate and investigate. This is also a major barrier in detecting and promptly handling the situation of fake and poor quality drugs.
Responding to voters' petitions on the persistent situation of counterfeit and substandard drugs, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that the Ministry of Health is drafting a Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the 2016 Pharmacy Law; including amending and supplementing contents related to drug quality management in a more transparent and strict manner. In addition, the Ministry of Health continues to strengthen inspection and handling of violations in the pharmaceutical sector according to the provisions of law, in order to prevent the production and circulation of counterfeit and substandard drugs.
Dangerous if used
According to medical experts, the rampant counterfeit drug epidemic poses a great danger to patients. When using counterfeit drugs, patients may have to spend a lot of money to buy drugs, but the disease does not improve, and even gets worse. In many cases, patients with serious illnesses need to use special drugs and antibiotics, but because they use counterfeit drugs, the "golden time" to save the patient's life passes, leading to the consequences of the disease becoming more and more serious, even leading to death. In some cases, counterfeit drugs contain poor quality active ingredients and pharmaceuticals due to the manual production process, and the manufacturer mixes in many other impurities, which can cause death to the user.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Khanh Phong Lan, Vice President of the Vietnam Pharmaceutical Association, in recent years, the number of cases of counterfeit and substandard drugs detected has decreased steadily every year, specifically from over 7% in 1991 to less than 0.1% in recent years. "Does the decrease in the number of detected cases really reflect a controlled pharmaceutical market? Are counterfeit and substandard drugs increasingly detected less or are the authorities not taking many samples for testing and not covering all of this?", Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Khanh Phong Lan questioned.
At the same time, Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Khanh Phong Lan informed that many people who consumed fake and poor quality drugs suffered health problems and even lost their lives. Therefore, in her opinion, an individual who makes fake drugs and is aware of doing so has committed mass murder and intentional murder. Of all the crimes, the crime of making fake drugs is the most serious, and producing and assisting in the production of fake drugs is a crime.
Tracing the origin of fake Cefixim 200 antibiotics
On August 16, the Department of Drug Administration, Ministry of Health sent an official dispatch requesting the Department of Health of Thua Thien Hue province to urgently inspect the compliance with legal regulations in the pharmaceutical business of Phu Khang Pharmacy (No. 97 Dinh Tien Hoang Street, Dong Ba Ward, Hue City). At the same time, coordinate with functional units to verify and trace the origin of the fake Cefixim 200 drug discovered at Phu Khang Pharmacy.
Previously, on July 30, the Drug Administration sent an official dispatch to the Department of Health of provinces and cities regarding the discovery of fake Cefixim 200, requesting coordination with relevant agencies to trace the origin of fake Cefixim 200 products and strictly handle organizations and individuals who violate the law. The local Department of Health has notified drug businesses and users of information about fake drugs on the label: Cefixim 200 film-coated tablets, GĐKLH number: VD-28887-18; batch number: 15030723, NSX: 030723, HD: 030725; batch number: 04200623, NSX: 200623, HD: 200625 and batch number: 28201123, NSX: 201123, HD: 201125; Manufacturer: Cuu Long Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company.
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Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/hiem-hoa-thuoc-gia-thuoc-kem-chat-luong-post754461.html
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