That's the name of this report from the Institute of Medicine (eds. Lawrence Gostin and Gillian Buckley). The Food and Drug Administration and similar regulatory agencies around the world seek to protect consumers by approving drugs only if they are reasonably safe and effective for their intended uses. But that objective is undermined when bad (unapproved) drugs get on the market. Most, but not all, problems occur in the developing world. The report describes the problem and how to mitigate or solve it. Here's the Institute of Medicine's summary:
Falsified and substandard medicines provide little protection from
disease and, worse, can expose consumers to major harm. Bad drugs pose
potential threats around the world, but the nature of the risk varies by
country, with higher risk in countries with minimal or non-existent
regulatory oversight. While developed countries are not immune, –
negligent production at a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy killed 44
people from September 2012 to January 2013 – the vast majority of
problems occur in developing countries where underpowered and unsafe
medicines affect millions. It is difficult to measure the public health burden of falsified
and substandard drugs, the number of deaths they cause, or the amount of
time and money wasted using them. The FDA asked the IOM to assess the
global public health implications of falsified, substandard, and
counterfeit pharmaceuticals to help jump start international discourse
about this problem. At the international level, productive discussion
relies on cooperation and mutual trust. This report lays out a plan to
invest in quality to improve public health.
