• Home
• Defective Drug Index
• About A Drug Recall
• Contact A Defective Drug Lawyer

We Can Help.

Counterfeit Drugs Bound for Africa Seized

-October 3, 2008

Belgian customs officials have seized over two million fake medications on their way to Africa. Officials caught on to the scheme when they noticed some of the drugs’ labels were misspelled.

As the biggest seizure of fake medications in European history, officials were able to save millions of lives. They confiscated counterfeit anti-malaria medications made by a Swiss manufacturer and painkillers produced by a German pharmaceutical company.

An Indian company based in Mumbai was responsible for sending these fake medications, which were bound for Togo and likely would have been distributed throughout West Africa, had the counterfeit drugs not been seized.

The Growing Problem of Fake Medications
Sadly, this recent confiscation of fake medications is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, experts at the United Nations estimate that 10 percent of the world market and 30 percent of the African market are muddied by counterfeit prescriptions.

Even worse is the effect these counterfeit medications have on patients, as many of the drugs counterfeited are critically needed to save lives. More specifically, the World Health Organization (WHO) approximates that nearly 200,000 malaria-related deaths could be prevented each year if patients had access to real anti-malarial medications.

Researchers from Oxford University, led by Dr. Paul Newton, have found that the latest anti-malarial drug to be faked is artemisinin. In their studies, this team of researchers found that:

• 53 percent of the anti-malarial medications they purchased in Southeast Asia were fake
• 12 different varieties of fake artemisinin flooded the Asian marketplace (and threaten to invade the world market, if all haven't already)
• All fakes, at this point in time, are being produced by Guilin Pharma, a Chinese manufacturer.

Along with anti-malarial drugs, other medications commonly faked and distributed throughout the world include:

• AIDS drugs
• Antibiotics
• Meningitis medications
• Tuberculosis drugs

(Sources: BBC News, The Herald Tribune)

Have you been harmed by a prescription medication? If so, contact us today to talk to an experienced professional who will provide you with the legal support you need to pursue your legal claim.