31. July 2005 17:50
UK Authorities say they have seized counterfeit packs of the Pfizer cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor after they entered the legitimate supply chain.
According to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), 73 packs of the 20 milligram dose of the drug have been seized from the pharmaceutical trade at an undisclosed location.
However a spokeswoman says that more packs of the drug could still be in the system and some may have already reached consumers.
On July 22 MHRA officers raided premises where the fake drug was found, and the case is apparently now the subject of an ongoing investigation.
This seizure is the third time that counterfeit drugs have been discovered in pharmacies or in wholesaler warehouses, and highlights the growing threat of fake medicines, which according to experts, has become a lucrative business for criminal gangs.
Regulatory authorities last year seized bogus versions of Eli Lilly and and ICOS Crop's anti-impotence drug Cialis, as well as Abbott Laboratories' slimming pill Reductil.
Because counterfeit medicines may contain the incorrect dose, the wrong ingredients or no active ingredients at all, they constitute a potentially serious threat to patient health.
Kate Lloyd, medical director of Pfizer UK, is alarmed at the discovery of the counterfeits, which the company believes entered the country via parallel trade, whereby drugs are shipped around Europe to exploit price differences.
She says patient safety is at risk if counterfeit products can easily be introduced into the supply chain through cross border trade.
Pfizer says the government and the European authorities should consider outlawing the repackaging of an original manufacturer's medicines by third parties.
Lipitor is Pfizer's biggest-selling product with annual worldwide sales of more than $10 billion a year, making it an attractive target for counterfeiters.
http://www.mhra.gov.uk/
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