
Regulators press forward to fight drug counterfeiting and illicit dispensing
NABP tracks rogue online pharmacies; WHO codifies international testing standards for SSFFCs
The years-long battle to control illicit drug dispensing, including counterfeit drugs, has some
For the past two years, NABP has owned the responsibility of allocating the “.pharmacy” top-level domain (TLD), by arrangement with ICANN, the international authority on internet naming conventions. NABP says that as of Sept. 30, it has approved 406 domain names, including 244 with the .pharmacy TLD. Of those, 182 registered to pharmacies, and the remainder to various organizations. Related to pharmacy practice. NABP also reports that Google and VISA (the credit card company) now restrict online drug-purchase or -advertising transactions to sites with the .pharmacy TLD (although a quick check of the Web still shows plenty of .com drug sellers).
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has a number of ongoing efforts related to drug quality and anti-counterfeiting. In late October, a group, the Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations (ECSPP), issued a “
Finally—just to round out recent reporting on the counterfeit topic—the Pharmaceutical Security Institute, a US organization funded by major pharma companies, has reported 3,002 incidents in 2015, up from 2177 the year before. An “incident” refers to an instance of counterfeit drug seizure, theft or diversion; PSI gathers this information from member companies and from national and international police and customs authorities. There were 971 seizures or raids of illegal activities in that year, up 34% from the year before (this can be a reflection both of increased regulatory vigilance as well as increased criminal activity).
Newsletter
Stay ahead in the life sciences industry with Pharmaceutical Commerce, the latest news, trends, and strategies in drug distribution, commercialization, and market access.