The drugs don’t work: Despite the best efforts of the authorities, producers of fake medicines are making a killing in Cambodia
“Counterfeit medicine kills, while real medicine heals.” This was the simple but apt message selected just over a year ago for a poster campaign in Cambodia that aimed to raise awareness of the risks of counterfeit medications, as part of a government crackdown on the illicit trade. Record seizures of counterfeit medications in the country followed. On September 24, 2012, police appropriated more than two tonnes of dangerous medicines in Phnom Penh and arrested a pharmacy owner. A week later, three tonnes of counterfeit and expired medicines were discovered at warehouses in the capital’s Chamkarmon district – the largest counterfeit drug haul recorded in the country. … “Approximately 20% of the antimalarial medicines in Cambodia do not work. Many are fakes – sold because patients are not aware of the dangers. Additionally, most antimalarials make legitimate companies only a small revenue, so the companies don’t protect those brands as closely as they might more valuable products,” [economist Roger Bate] added. …
