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Medicines watchdog seizes over £2m
counterfeit medicines in UK drugs bust
More than £2m worth of
falsified medicines have been
seized in the UK in less than three
weeks, the Government’s medicines
watchdog has revealed.
The Medicines and Healthcare
products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
said on 24 October that it intercepted
one million doses of counterfeit
medicines, worth over £2m, between
9 and 27 October, including diazepam,
modafinil and dermal fillers.
The drugs bust formed part of the
global operation Pangea, because of
which 500 tons of illicit drugs totalling
around £11m were netted in 116
countries – resulting in 859 arrests.
With the help of anti-crime
organisation Interpol, the MHRA
raided properties located in the
North of England that were linked
to the online trading of illegal and
potentially harmful medicines. This
led to one arrest, the watchdog said.
In addition to the raids, the MHRA
searched certain airports, mail
delivery centres and websites on
the open and dark web. It said that
123 websites were shut down and
535 online adverts removed.
According to Interpol, around
150,000 “powerful sleeping pills”
were found in shipments labelled as
clothing, bedding and food across the
UK. In Ireland, more illicit sleeping
pills were concealed in a hollowed-out
book.
MHRA head of enforcement Alastair
Jeffrey said the findings are just “the
tip of the iceberg”.
He added: “Our intelligence-led
enforcement operations have seized
millions of counterfeit and unlicensed
medicines and devices in the UK. We
will continue to take action against
known criminals – working with our
international partners to stop illegal
medicines from entering the UK.
“Criminals who sell medicines
over the internet have absolutely no
regard for your health and taking
medicine that is ether falsified or
unlicensed puts you at risk of serious
harm.”
No-deal Brexit would reverse FMD implementation
in UK, Government says
A no-deal Brexit would put a
stop to the the falsified
medicines directive (FMD) in the UK,
the Department of Health and Social
Care (DHSC) has revealed.
Speaking on 7 October at the
Pharmacy Show in Birmingham,
DHSC senior policy manager Claymore
Richardson told our sister publication
The Pharmacist that if the UK failed to
reach a deal with the EU after Brexit,
FMD would be abolished in favour of
a UK-wide system.
On 4 October, the Government’s
medicines watchdog the Medicines
Healthcare products Regulatory
Agency (MHRA) launched a
consultation that looked at the impact
FMD could have on the regulation of
medicines and medical devices in the
event of a no-deal Brexit.
Mr Richardson told The Pharmacist:
‘If there was a hard, no-deal [Brexit]
with no transition period, we would
have to revoke FMD because people
would not legally be able to comply
with it.’
Under FMD, a series of European
6 | Issue 90 | 2018 | hospitalpharmacyeurope.com
anti-counterfeiting measures,
pharmacists will scan medicine
products to verify their authenticity
before decommissioning and handing
them to patients.
As the UK has a legal duty as an
EU member state to comply with
FMD by the 9 February deadline,
Mr Richardson argued that we would
have to implement an in-house system
under a no-deal Brexit scenario.
Mr Richardson said: ‘We would
be looking at the options in terms
of what a national system would be.
‘It’s completely common sense.
If you look at all the investment
and the work that’s been going in
implementing FMD, if you’re going to
do a UK system you would want that
to build on what people have been
spending their money on’.
In February, the MHRA published
an impact assessment document
on Article 23 providers only, which
include dental practitioners and
optometrists among other healthcare
professionals but exclude community
pharmacies and hospitals, where the
Government has ‘legal scope to make
changes’, Mr Richardson added.
He said that the Government has
not allocated a specific pot of money
for FMD to help those who will have
to invest in the relevant equipment,
such as scanners, to decommission
packs of medicines before they are
dispensed to patients. However, he did
not clarify how much money was in
this pot.
Mr Richardson pointed out that
this decision will be subject to change
following future negotiations with the
Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating
Committee (PSNC).