Abstract
Counterfeit drugs are a worldwide concern. This organized crime has deterrent effect on public health and on pharmaceutical business across the globe. Lack of comprehensive standardized definition of counterfeit drugs with global acceptance, higher benefits of cost ratio and intercomplexity of market and globalized network are the major reasons behind this. Unawareness among the stakeholders lack of intellectual property protection and social-economic factor also resulted in flourished market of fake drugs. Despite of several attempts made by global regulatory agencies, inefficient regulations, lax enforcement of existing legislation and lack of commitment by involved authorities still remain major loopholes, aggravating the serious problem of counterfeiting. Although use of techniques based on interference pattern, encryption, spectroscopy and chromatographic principles by pharmaceutical industries to authenticate genuine products has curtailed the problem to a limited extent. In order to efficiently control the organized crime of medicine counterfeiting, collective efforts of ‘National Counterfeit Control Agencies’, pharmaceutical industries, law regulatory agencies and public are essential. Strict legal enforcement, applications of comprehensive database, interlinked network and technological advancement are need of the hour. The purpose of this article is to overview all aspects of drug counterfeiting including current status and magnitude, effectiveness and limitation of existing technologies available to counter with particular attention to suggest possible roadmap to overcome the problem through uni-directional and focus global co-operation.
Keywords: Analysis, Anti-counterfeiting technology, Counterfeit medicines, Counterfeit pharmaceuticals, Fake drugs, Medicine counterfeiting.
Graphical Abstract
Related Journals
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry
Anti-Inflammatory & Anti-Allergy Agents in Medicinal Chemistry
Current Bioactive Compounds
Current Drug Targets
Current Neuropharmacology
Current Pharmaceutical Design
Current Pharmaceutical Analysis
Current Vascular Pharmacology
Letters in Drug Design & Discovery
Current Drug Discovery Technologies
Related Books
Frontiers in Drug Design and Discovery
New Findings from Natural Substances
Key Heterocyclic Cores for Smart Anticancer Drug–Design Part II
Key Heterocyclic Cores for Smart Anticancer Drug–Design Part I
Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Production: An Introductory Textbook
Evidence-Based Research in Ayurveda against COVID-19 in Compliance with Standardized Protocols and Practices
Pharmaceuticals for Targeting Coronaviruses
Frontiers in Cardiovascular Drug Discovery
Frontiers in Drug Design and Discovery
Medical Applications of Beta-Glucan
70
2
1
1