The Medicrime Convention comes into force to combat counterfeiting
Makes criminal offences of the counterfeiting, manufacture and supply of medical products without authorisation or without complying with safety standards
The Council of Europe’s Medicrime Convention, which aims to combat the counterfeiting of medical products and protect public health, came into force on 1 January.
This Convention is the first legally binding international instrument making criminal offences of the counterfeiting, manufacture and supply of medical products marketed without authorisation or without complying with safety standards. It provides not only for criminal-law penalties, but also prevention and victim-protection measures.
Open to all countries across the world, the Convention offers a framework for international co-operation and measures to improve co-ordination at national level. In particular, it provides for the setting up of contact points within national judicial systems, health systems, accredited medical laboratories, law enforcement and customs authorities to ensure the rapid exchange of information.
The Convention also provides for the setting up of a committee tasked with monitoring implementation by the signatory states.
Opened for signature in 2011, the Convention has so far been ratified by five states (Spain, Guinea, Hungary, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine), and signed by 21 others.
Sales of counterfeit medicines amounted to US$75bn in 2010, representing a 90% increase since 2005 (source: WHO).
In 2015, Operation Pangea VIII, co-ordinated by Interpol in 115 countries, led to the closure of 2,414 illegal e-commerce sites, the seizure of 20.7 million potentially dangerous drugs and 156 arrests (source: IRACM).
