The Global Forum on Access to Safe Medicines is being held in London from April 2-4. This gathering, provides a meeting point for stakeholders involved in tackling the global challenge of counterfeit drugs. The agenda explores strategies and technologies designed to address the safety of online medicines, false labeling, substandard and badly stored drugs, and supply chain security. CSIP and our Ex-Officio Member, the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP), will be co-presenting a panel on “Blocking the Trade of Illegal Online Pharmacies” at the event.

Recognizing that the challenges of ensuring safe drugs for patients are universal, international and pervasive, the Global Forum on Access to Safe Medicines provides a valuable meeting point for all those involved in tackling counterfeit, diverted and other unsafe medicines.

Now in its 8th year, the conference began as the Global Forum on Pharmaceutical AntiCounterfeiting, with the first conference held in Geneva in 2002.

This year’s agenda explores many international strategies and technologies designed to address:

• Drug diversion and counterfeiting
• Out-of-date and badly stored drugs
• The safety of online medicines
• False labeling
• Supply chain security
• Practical solutions

Since 2002, there has been a huge increase in awareness of the dangers of counterfeit medicines and the pharmaceutical industry, national drug regulators, law enforcement agencies, international organizations and healthcare professionals have never been more active in combating fake medicines and medical devices.

Nevertheless, the problem persists and may even be on the rise in many parts of the world, including in the Americas and Europe. So the question is no longer “What is the nature of the problem?” but rather, “How can we collaborate to combat the problem and what is the best way to do so?”

With its established and exceptional mix of stakeholder participation, the Global Forum on Access to Safe Medicines provides is an ideal location to discuss these questions. Collaboration between the pharmaceutical industry, DRAs, customs and police, pharmacists, doctors, nurses, policy makers and patients is now generally recognized as essential for the most effective policies to combat fakes.

The conference brings these groups together, but adds another essential stakeholder element: suppliers of anti-counterfeiting services and technologies. This makes the Global Forum a unique opportunity to see the latest in anti-counterfeiting technologies and to hear how they are – or could be – applied by individual companies, DRAs or consortia.

CSIP welcome the opportunity to share results from our own efforts to combat rogue online pharmacies and the online sale of safe pharmaceuticals with this wide array of stakeholders at the Global Forum. Be sure to check our blog in the coming weeks for a follow up report on the event and our participation in it.