U.K. regulators are rolling out new policies designed to strengthen the fight against counterfeit medical devices and drugs.
As SecuringPharma reports, the new strategy is designed to make sure suspect devices and drugs trigger quicker, more efficient investigations, with a goal of keeping the materials away from the public as much as possible. The regulations also map out how to analyze and assess a given incident and determine how much of a risk to the public a suspect product poses. Other guidelines focus on how to communicate about a risky product and gather evidence for criminal action, according to the story.
This approach is actually the second anti-counterfeiting strategy issued by the country's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The initial strategy stemmed from a case involving thousands of fake cancer and central nervous system drugs that reached U.K. patients, the article explains. Additionally, the revised set of policies is meant to bring the U.K. in synch with EU-wide rules on the matter.
Regulators say fake medical products are sold more often through the Internet than in any pharmacy or store. And while pharmaceutical counterfeiting seems to get more media coverage, devices and medical equipment are hardly immune. For example, the FDA recalled counterfeit surgical mesh a couple of years back.
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