PRESS RELEASE: Research-based pharmaceutical companies help improve patient protection
- Protection against falsified medicines is being improved across Europe – in Germany with the help of the securPharm system.
- The German Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies vfa and its member companies are among those who ensure that patient access to medicines is becoming safer still.
- Protection against falsified medicines is another example of how much can be achieved for citizens when European countries work together.
Berlin (vfa). February 9, 2019, will see the start of the changeover of the German drug distribution system to the securPharm system introducing authenticity tests. As says Birgit Fischer, Managing Director of the German Association of Research-based Pharmaceutical Companies (vfa), "The securPharm system is going to ensure that patients will be better protected against falsified medicines. Our Association and its member companies have done their bit to make this progress happen. The vfa member companies have invested a great deal of time and manpower to change their medicines production processes. This means that from now on every package will be unique. The new packages are slowly reaching pharmacies and hospitals. Hence, with each passing day protection against falsification is getting better.”
Verification systems that are similar to securPharm's system have been introduced in all EU countries (apart from Italy and Greece) as well as in Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. They have been developed by the trades that are themselves engaged in the sale of medicines upon an initiative of the European Union. According to Fischer, “The improved protection against falsified medicines is an excellent example of European cooperation for the benefit of the citizens. In addition, EU countries working together with pharmaceutical companies are using raids by customs police and other measures to jointly fight pharmaceutical crime.“
Background
The German securPharm organisation developed the securPharm system in accordance with EU specification and is going to operate it permanently. It is funded by associations representing the pharmaceutical industry (vfa, BPI, BAH) as well as associations of wholesalers (PHAGRO) and pharmacists (ABDA). The system facilitates authenticity checks of prescription medicines produced by all manufacturers.
The Association of Research-based Pharmaceutical Companies (VFA) is the trade association of the innovative pharmaceutical industry in Germany. It represents the interests of 44 world's leading manufacturers and more than 100 subsidiaries and affiliated companies in the health, research and economic policy. The members of the VFA up about two-thirds of the German pharmaceutical market and employ approximately 80,000 employees in Germany. 17,000 of whom work in research and development. Futher information: www.vfa.de/de/englische-inhalte
