WHO seeks smart technology to stop fake medicines

The World Health Organization is looking to harness smart
technology to stop counterfeit medicines flooding developing world markets with
sometimes-fatal results.

Recently WHO had a meeting with leading technology companies to
investigate ways to detect bogus drugs, which account for more than a quarter of
sales in some poor countries.

Howard Zucker, WHO assistant director-general, health
technology, said that experts involved in the project would pull together ideas
and brief countries on potential approaches within a couple of months. The UN
body discussed with these companies, topics ranging from bar codes and holograms
to digital watermarks and radio tags.

Zucker said the current crisis had been exacerbated by the
spread of the Internet, which has become a conduit for many bogus products in
both the developed and developing world

The issue is a growing concern not only to healthcare
professionals but also to pharmaceutical companies, who fear for their profits
and reputations. In developed countries, counterfeit medicines currently account
for around 1% of sales but thes rate is more than 10% in developing countries,
and in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America where over 30% of the medicines
on sale are thought to be bogus, according to figures complied by an WHO-led
international taskforce.