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Letters to the Editor
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Regulation of medicines
Counterfeit not the same as parallel distribution
From Mr R. Freudenberg
The report “Counterfeit
Lipitor found in legitimate pharmaceutical supply chain” (PJ, 6 August, p155) perpetuates the myth about a
link between counterfeit and parallel distributed medicines.
Counterfeiting is the manufacture and distribution of illicit products
by unscrupulous businessmen. In contrast, parallel distribution allows
the most up-to-date and effective medicines to be imported legally and
under licence from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
into the UK from other EC states exclusively, repackaged and made available
to the NHS at low cost.
There is no evidence whatsoever that counterfeit medicines have ever
reached UK patients through parallel distribution. In the particular
case on which you report, counterfeit Lipitor was brought into the country
illegally from Holland — not through the parallel route.
There are stringent rules governing the licensing of parallel distributors
of medicines, and the repackaging and marketing of such products are
regulated by the MHRA under exactly the same conditions as apply to manufacturers.
The NHS encourages pharmacists and clinicians to buy parallel distributed
medicines and this process saves taxpayers and patients more than £200m
per annum.
The British Association of European Pharmaceutical Distributors, is committed
to improving the safety of medicines through proper regulation and control.
Continuing to link parallel distribution with counterfeit drugs is erroneous
and unhelpful.
Richard Freudenberg
Secretary-General
British Association of European Pharmaceutical Distributors
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal