The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7394 p371
1 April 2006

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Counterfeiters market new drug first

Counterfeiters are selling fake versions of rimonabant (Acomplia) before the European Medicines Agency has approved the genuine product. Rimonabant, a selective cannabinoid-1 receptor blocker, has been developed by sanofi-aventis as an antiobesity medicine.

Issuing a warning about the fake product this week, European Commission vice-president Günter Verheugen said: “I am alarmed at the ever-increasing number of counterfeit medicines sold via the internet. This represents a real danger to the health of patients.”

Mr Verheugen’s warning came shortly after the European Association of Pharmaceutical Full-line Wholesalers (GIRP) said that it was adopting a zero-tolerance approach to counterfeit medicines. “Patient safety is our number one concern,” said GIRP secretary general Monika Derecque-Pois.