PIC/S: New Participating Authorities

At its meeting of 11-12 September 2017 in Taipei (Chinese Taipei), the PIC/S Committee sent an invitation for joining its Scheme from 1 January 2018 to the Iran's Food and Drug Administration (IFDA), the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TMMDA), and Mexico's Federal Commission for the Protection from Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS). The new institutions from Iran, Turkey and Mexico will become the 50th, 51st and 52nd PIC/S Participating Authorities.

Source: PIC/S

Combat Against Illegal Pharmaceuticals

Since cross-border cooperation is crucially needed for efficiently combating the manufacture of and trading in illegal pharmaceuticals, 80 experts from authorities in 26 countries took part in a meeting of the Working Group of Enforcement Officers (WGEO) in Montreux. It was organised by Swissmedic, the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products.

The experts aimed for an exchange of diverse information about – and practical experience of – the continuous combat against illegal pharmaceuticals. An actual and very important aspect was the trade in illegal medicines on the internet and the question of how the illegal websites and sales channels can be fought against. Another discussion point was the terrifying trend towards counterfeiting even in the legal markets of various EU countries.

Source: Swissmedic