New controls to block fake medicines

NEW safeguards are coming into place today to protect patients from fake medicines.

Throughout Europe, medicine packs will have enhanced tamper-proof measures and will now carry a barcode with a unique serial number so that each pack can be scanned in a pharmacy.

It will be checked against a central database to ensure the product is legitimate before handover to a patient.

The new national system, managed by Irish Medicines Verification Organisation (IMVO), is an additional layer of security to protect the supply of medicines at pharmacy and patient level.

Ireland is now in compliance with the EU Falsified Medicines Directive, which provides more safeguards and security to ensure Irish patients will continue to have confidence in the medicines they receive from their pharmacy.

Pat O’Mahony, chair of IMVO, said: “Although there has been no risk or reported incidents at pharmacy level from counterfeit or falsified medicines in Ireland, other countries have had issues so this new system provides further security and protection for now and into the future. Counterfeit medicines can pose serious risks to health, as there is no guarantee of their safety.”

The initiative has involved the collaboration of over 2,000 pharmacies, hospitals and wholesalers.