Framework for Establishing National Guidelines for Pharmacists in Combating Counterfeit Medicines:

Providing the tools for pharmacists to fight counterfeit medicines for the benefit of their patients’ health

WHO defines counterfeit medicine as a product which is “deliberately and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to identity and/or source”. Counterfeiting can apply to both branded and generic products and counterfeit products may include products with the correct ingredients or with the wrong ingredients, without active ingredients, with insufficient active ingredients or with fake packaging. Because of the potential risks of counterfeit medicines for public and individual health, pharmacists have been involved for many years in the fight against counterfeit medicines and their harmful consequences.

In order to support pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists organisations, the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) has developed a Framework for Establishing

National Guidelines for Pharmacists in Combating Counterfeit Medicines.  This document is intended to facilitate the development by national organisations of a guide on counterfeit medicines for pharmacists, through the provision of a table of contents and comprehensive, researched text.

National Organisations need only check the accuracy of the text with regards to their national situations and to complete a few paragraphs describing national specifications (e.g. procedures, laws…). They are also encouraged to use this as an opportunity to edit their own national guidelines for pharmacists in order to establish or strengthen their partnerships with the relevant national authorities involved in the fight against counterfeit medicines.

This Framework has been made available in 3 languages (English, French and Spanish)  to FIP’s 120 Member Organisations from over 80 countries.

This FIP Member Organisation Initiative has followed a series of activities in the scope of counterfeit medicines. In 1999, the FIP council adopted a statement on coun­terfeit medicines and updated its statement in 2003. This statement provides policy directions to combat counterfeit medical products and can be downloaded on the FIP web­site: http://www.fip.org

Since 2006, FIP has been actively involved in the WHO IMPACT and chairs the Working group on Communication. In addition, it has shared its expertise with the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on counterfeit medicines. FIP has established an online resource center on combating counterfeit medicines which highlights key information for patients and contains publications and international guidelines/tools that can be useful in policy development and advocacy against counterfeit medicines. This is accessible at: http://www.fip.org/combatcounterfeitmedicines