Falsified medical products are those "that deliberately or fraudulently misrepresent their identity, composition or source", according to the World Health Organization. A medication is not just another product. Without strict quality standards and controls from the pharma industry and health authorities, medications offer no guarantee of quality, safety or therapeutic efficacy and can put lives in danger.
Falsification can touch every aspect of health: cancer, diabetes, malaria, contraceptives, vaccines and antibiotics, to name a few, and targets brands and generics alike.
A Falsified Medicine May Be...
A product containing no active ingredient
A product containing an active ingredient but at the wrong dose
A product containing impurities or toxic substances
A product containing an active ingredient other than that of the authentic product
