New York Times: Stemming the Tide of Fake Medicines
Editorial Board

“A flood of fraudulent medicines sold mostly in the developing world is threatening the health of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people in those nations and consumers in more advanced nations as well. International organizations, national drug regulators, and the drug industry itself have been struggling for years to curb sales of phony or poorly prepared medicines. But articles in a special issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, published online last month, show that efforts to control this problem have had only modest success over the past decade. … Congress is considering ways to modernize drug regulation at the Food and Drug Administration to speed clinical trials and get drugs to market faster. It should also look at how the agency, acting on its own or through international organizations, might help rein in bogus drugs in an increasingly global market that can affect all consumers” (5/18).