Aegate Ltd today told EU decision makers, participating in the first European Parliament symposium on medicines counterfeiting, that its patient safety and anti-counterfeit solution will protect patients and contribute to combating the growing problem of medicines counterfeiting in Europe.
“It is clear from the discussions today that the EU has recognised the real threat of counterfeit medicines in Europe and is looking for ways to prevent this growing trade and protect EU citizens from their potentially harmful effects. Aegate is providing such a solution today,” said Gary Noon, Chief Executive of Aegate, a UK-based pharmaceutical authentication company.
Speaking at the symposium in Brussels, Mr Noon demonstrated the company’s patient safety solution, developed for use by pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies, and which is currently being rolled out across Belgium and soon to be introduced in Greece.
The growth of medicines counterfeiting is a real threat to patient safety in Europe. In 2005, 560,000 counterfeit medicines were seized at EU borders, a 100% increase from 2004. Estimates for 2006 suggest that over 1.5 million counterfeit medicines were seized – a further 300% increase .
Aegate is the first company to provide an operational solution to medicines counterfeiting in Europe. It utilises an individual package’s unique code (a simple barcode) to verify the identity and authenticity of each medicine dispensed by the pharmacist.
The Aegate solution is a comprehensive online communications network linking pharmaceutical manufacturers to pharmacies, which enables an authentication check of each individual medicine pack at the moment when it counts - before the drug is dispensed to the patient.
As the Aegate solution is fully integrated into the pharmacy software, authentication does not create any additional work for the pharmacist. In this way, the system supports pharmacies to prevent the inadvertent distribution of substandard medicines, including counterfeit as well as expired and recalled products to patients.
In Belgium, Aegate has already signed agreements with pharmacy software providers and several major global pharmaceutical companies representing a diverse cross section of products sold through traditional pharmacies, including generics and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines - notably Merck Sharpe and Dome, Lilly, ratiopharm, Merck Belgium and Boehringher Ingleheim. After only a few months in operation manufacturers have provided more than 21 million unique serialised codes to Aegate for authentication purposes. Aegate is ready to introduce the system in Greece within the next few weeks.
Françoise Grossetête MEP, host of the conference, recently stated:
“The fight against the counterfeiting of medicines is today a high priority, with a view to protecting the health of members of the public and the security of patients. It is now time for the Commission to take urgent action, potentially including reforms to the EU’s pharmaceutical legislation in order to ensure the quality of medicines dispensed to patients in the European Union.”
For further information, please contact
Alison Williams, VP Marketing and Communications – Aegate
Tel: +44 (0) 1763 285339
E-mail: alison.williams@aegate.com
Julie Valente, consultant to Aegate - Burson-Marsteller
Tel: +32 2 497 538737
E-mail: Julie.Valente@bm.com
