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On the occasion of World Anti-Counterfeiting Day, EAEPC, EFPIA, GIRP and PGEU are pleased to announce significant progress on their proposed European Stakeholder Model (ESM), a European medicines verification project aimed at preventing falsified medicines from entering the European supply chain and improving patient safety.
The threat of counterfeit medicines is substantive and growing. Counterfeit medicines have been documented in every therapeutic category, in both generic and branded medicines, and in every region of the world.
Recent cases of counterfeit oncology treatments as well as of counterfeit generics underline the urgent need for action and stringent measures – such as the ESM – to protect patients worldwide.
“World Anti-Counterfeiting Day represents an ideal moment for ESM stakeholders to reiterate our commitment to patient safety and to further reflect on our joint efforts in securing the EU supply chain,” said EFPIA Director General Richard Bergström.
A public tender process was launched in April for the phase 1 of the ESM. The stakeholders are now moving ahead with setting up the system, demonstrating their commitment to the establishment of a harmonised, interoperable and cost-effective system across the EU.
“With a ground-breaking alliance of stakeholders now in place and plenty of milestones lying ahead, we are pleased to further stress the GIRP official endorsement of our joint Memorandum of Understanding announced on 4 June 2012.
“This endorsement clearly shows our strong commitment to working together for greater patient safety” said Monika Derecque-Pois, Director General of GIRP.
The Secretary General of PGEU, John Chave added: “Following our joint submission to the European Commission public consultation on the Delegated Act for safety features, we are looking forward to further engaging with interested parties such as patients in order to discuss our plans and to explore opportunities for further collaboration”.
“Our commitment to securing the legal supply chain in Europe is strong and we take the opportunity of today – World Anti-Counterfeiting Day – to stress the need for coordinated efforts involving all stakeholders, including governments and patients,” Richard Freudenberg, Secretary General of EAEPC concluded.
