COVID-19 Pandemic: A Surge in Counterfeit Medicines: An International Journal of Medical Toxicology and Drug Experience

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Falsified medical products may contain no active ingredient, the wrong active ingredient, or the wrong amount of the correct active ingredient [1]. The prevalence of falsified medicines spans from 1% in developed settings to 10% in the Global South [2]. Due to broken supply chains, strong demand for medicines and limited capacities of law enforcement, the COVID-19 pandemic created the optimal conditions for the falsified medicines' market to expand. Objective: Aim of this is to present evidence about the surge in counterfeit medicines amid the COVID-19 crisis. Methods: This review examines the existing published scientific literature and peer-to-peer networks, grey literature as well as briefs and policy reports on counterfeit medicines amid COVID-19 pandemic. Results: According to EOCD, People's Republic of China and India are the primary producers of counterfeit medicines, with the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Hong Kong (China) serving as transit economies [3]. The review has identified three areas of impact for counterfeit medicines amid COVID-19. These are (i) the increased demand for COVID-19-reated medicines, due to the medical supply restrictions related to the pandemic. These restrictions have been introduced by local authorities (e.g. supply restriction for Chloroquine and Azithromycin) or occurred because of air traffic reduction. Over 60 countries have implemented export restrictions and 25% of restricted products were medicines [4];(ii) E-commerce as a relevant platform for substandard medicines. For instance, advertisements of illicit COVD-19-related medical products have been reported on social media platforms, such as Instagram. According to the industry, online distribution becomes predominant and about 50% of purchases of illicit medicines are done on-line [5];(iii) weak regulatory frameworks, including insufficient technical capacity, constrained access and ineffective over-sight to address substandard and falsified medical products. WHO reports that 30 per cent of national regulatory authorities do not have full effective capacity to perform their functions [6]. Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic has increased the vulnerability to counterfeit medicines, leading to serious damage to the health of individuals or failure to treat their medical needs adequately. The identifies three relevant governance gaps (increased demand, E-commerce and weak regulatory frameworks) to be further addressed in dedicated fora.