Fight the Fakes - Fake Medicines Put Patients and the Public at Risk

Counterfeit and substandard medicines have reached global health crisis proportions, and present a real danger to all of us.  In a concerted effort to help protect people from fake medicines, the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is joining other global health organizations, including two USP Member organizations (International Council of Nurses and International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations), in a campaign to raise awareness and mobilize strategic partners to address this growing problem. 

Fight the Fakes encourages organizations and individuals around the world to help spread the word about this vital public health issue.  Fake medicines put patients and the public at risk, offering potentially dangerous products that can increase resistance to real treatments or cause further illness, disability or even death.  Everyone is encouraged to join the campaign and help spread the word about the dangers of fake medicines.

As a leader in the fight against counterfeit and substandard medicines, USP is actively involved in a series of ongoing initiatives to help ensure the quality of medicines.  Since 1992, USP has worked to implement programs in more than 35 countries.  For example:

·         The Promoting the Quality of Medicines (PQM) program, implemented by USP and funded by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has been instrumental in building capacity in developing countries to fight counterfeits and substandard drugs.

·         The Center for Pharmaceutical Advancement and Training (CePAT) in Accra, Ghana is a USP-funded effort to increase the number of experts and available tools to combat falsified, substandard and counterfeit medicines in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. For more information, view this video.

USP is pleased to join the international Fight the Fakes campaign, and encourages anyone concerned about this global issue to join them.