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Since our ancestors began trading several millennia ago, counterfeit and substandard medicines have been a recurring problem, with history punctuated by crises in the supply of anti-microbials, such as fake cinchona bark in the 1600s and fake quinine in the 1800s. Unfortunately this problem persists, in particular afflicting unsuspecting patients in 'developing' countries. Poor-quality drugs are a vital (but neglected) public health problem. They contribute to a 'crevasse' between the enormous effort in therapeutic research and policy decisions and implementation of good-quality medicines.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.tips.2009.11.005

Type

Journal article

Journal

Trends Pharmacol Sci

Publication Date

03/2010

Volume

31

Pages

99 - 101

Keywords

Consumer Product Safety, Delivery of Health Care, Developing Countries, Drug Contamination, Drug Industry, Pharmaceutical Preparations, Public Health, Quality Control