Pharmacists
The sterile solution was stirred in dirty buckets
Tatiana Bateneva, Izvestia newspaper (published on the website http://serpuhov.su /)
Recently, employees of the Department of Economic Security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia "covered" an underground workshop for the production of counterfeit medicines. Izvestia was told about the details of the operation, which is unique in complexity.
The underground workshop in the village of Obolensk in the Moscow region was monitored for more than a year. The schemers sensed danger: every two weeks they changed all the phone numbers, meeting places, encrypted...
And here is the final point. Operatives break into the secret room of an abandoned industrial building. The walls are shabby, plaster is falling from the ceiling, a ready-to-spill preparation is mixed in four enameled buckets, an aunt in a stale dressing gown and a cap is working at the ampoule sealing machine...
"You won't do anything to us"– Detection and suppression of such crimes is a difficult task, – the head of the 6th department of the operational search Bureau No. 5 of the Department of Economic Security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia Valentin Malyugin told Izvestia.
– To prove the fact of a crime, it is necessary to catch its participants in the "production process". Therefore, operations are being prepared for a long time, carefully, there can be no information leakage. But this is not the only difficulty.
The same workshop in Obolensk was already covered a little over a year ago. But the difficulties of initiating a criminal case led to the fact that, after waiting a little, the impudent guys resumed their activities. A man whom the operatives, not without reason, consider to be one of the organizers of the underground workshop, and this time, when they appeared, he maintained Olympic calm. I just didn't grin in my face.
"You're not going to do anything to us!" – falshivotabletochniki often declare, even when the police catch them by the hand. Why is it not easy to call to account people who commit a heinous and cynical crime?
"Holes" in the lawWe, consumers, can still recognize "butter" made from margarine or poached "second-freshness sturgeon" by taste and smell.
The lopsided products of underground workshops producing "branded" jackets and sneakers – by appearance.
Medications are a completely different matter. Firstly, it is almost impossible to recognize a "fake" among them by their appearance. Secondly, tablets pressed from chalk or solutions diluted in a bucket will be useless at best, that is, they will not help in the disease, which, of course, is dangerous. At worst, they can kill you.
But, unfortunately, the law does not distinguish between fake chocolates, sneakers and medicines. And the punishment for them is not severe. It is possible to bring to court only under two articles of the Criminal Code. For illegal use of someone else's trademark (Article 180), the maximum penalty is six years in prison. This is if the investigation proves that major damage was caused and the criminals acted as an organized group. And for the production, storage, transportation or sale of goods and products that do not meet safety requirements (Article 238) – a fine of 300 thousand rubles. That with millions of revolutions of underground workshops is a mere trifle. And only if someone dies from this "product", its manufacturers can go to places of imprisonment. But try to establish a connection – you will be tormented to prove that your beloved grandmother died from a fake "injection", and not from an illness. That's why criminals caught by the hand only grin in the face of the police.
Experts have been talking about amendments to the Criminal Code that would separate the clandestine production and sale of medicines from sausage and tights and toughen the punishment for experiments on sick people for years. Such an amendment has even already been submitted to the State Duma and passed the first reading. But then she disappeared somewhere.
– Are any forces interested in the untimely death of the amendment? – the question in the Ministry of Internal Affairs is left without comment.
Glass in the eyeWho are these people making money on the elderly, the sick, the disabled?
True professionals worked in the underground workshop of Obolensk. Chemists and microbiologists who lost their jobs, who managed to "mix" about 20 very effective and popular medicines quite close to the original. It succeeded, but not quite.
Who has been to modern pharmaceutical factories, he can not restrain his admiration. Sterile cleanliness, mandatory showers, a complete change of workwear even when moving from shop to shop, control over the composition of the air, special water treatment – and many other things are included in the concept of GMP, that is, "proper production practice". All for the sake of one thing – the safety and quality of the product.
What can be "produced" in a shabby room with dusty floors? In the fake drug, which is injected into the patient's eye, experts found scraps of hair. In low–quality cheap ampoules with another medicine - glass microparticles. The solution for injection from the bucket, similar in color to the real one, could nevertheless precipitate. Right in the vein of the patient. About dirt, about germs and viruses that could get there from the "manufacturers" themselves, it is better to keep silent.
Well, well, they themselves, probably, will be able to distinguish their "stucco" at the pharmacy in case of something and will not buy it. But Tula LLC "SHAR", which printed copies of "branded" packages for these products, – its director, Mr. Zolotov, accepted the order from a private person and fulfilled it with a clear conscience. I'm calling, asking:
– Do you have children, Igor Alekseevich, do you have old parents? Or do they not get sick?
"I don't want to answer your question," Mr. Zolotov replied. And according to the law, there is nothing to take it with. Until 1998, the manufacture of packaging for medicines was licensed. Now print anyone and anything.
Small -sized reptilesThe fight against counterfeiters is carried out by Roszdravnadzor units and drug manufacturers themselves.
– Two St. Petersburg companies – Polisan and Geropharm, the true manufacturers of some of the medicines that were forged in Obolensk, actively assisted us in carrying out the operation, – says Vladimir Modin, a leading employee of the 6th department of the ORB N 5 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. – Without their help, it would be difficult to catch a fake.
Criminals forge the most effective and in–demand drugs - otherwise they will not earn money. They come to the pharmacy, buy medicines and demand copies of documents for them – a certificate, a license, a supply agreement. By law, they have the right to do so, just like you and me. It is enough to print these papers on a copier – and now the accompanying documents are ready. Hand over the "products" to a well–fed pharmacy - get money.
But the scoundrels have a vulnerable spot. On the packaging of any medicine you will find a long row of numbers – the serial number. This is how one "batch" of a drug is designated in a production plant. It is clear that it will also be on fake packages, no matter how many "series" the pirates have cooked up. But it is difficult to hide this from true manufacturers. Firstly, the supply of fakes is seriously late compared to the real series. Secondly, the series turns out to be too big.
– Having detected a fake, the manufacturer is obliged to inform Roszdravnadzor and withdraw the entire series from pharmacies and hospitals, – says Alexander Borisov, General Director of Polisan LLC. – He suffers financial losses that no one compensates for. As well as reputational losses – the "fame" of the fake affects the sales of the real medicine
Now tell me: do they need it? And this is another obstacle in the effective war against fakes. Drug manufacturers have repeatedly offered to include these losses in the amount of damage from the activities of underground workshops. Then criminal liability will be completely different. But so far, the damage is still calculated only by the cost of the fakes themselves. What often allows criminals to get away with it – does not pull their goods to the same "large size". What is the conclusion? Pack the poison – and be rich!
What should I call you now?I 've been racking my head for a long time:
what would be a shorter name for these enterprising citizens? "Manufacturers of fake medicines" is long. "Fake tablets" are inaccurate, they fake both ampoules and ointments. "Pharmpirats" are a lot of honor, yet they don't stamp discs with Dima Bilan to delight young ladies.
In the thieves' jargon of the past there was such a word – "pharmacists". That's what the sellers of fake jewelry were called. Our time has added a different meaning by combining two concepts: "pharma" – that is, medicines and "zone" – you know what. Oh, the zone is crying for the pharmacists. It is necessary that they do not come out dry from the solution with hair and "microparticles of glass". It is possible that the criminal case against pharmaceutical manufacturers from Obolensk will become a turning point in the fight against the "black" production of medicines in Russia.
And what should we, the patients, do?First, don't panic.
The facts refute the rumors that up to 30% of the medicines sold in our country are being forged. Of the 17 thousand medicines registered in Russia, 100-120 names are forged, taking into account different dosages – no more. In monetary terms – about 0.8%, that is less than the world average. At the same time, the lion's share of the "falshak" produced in Russia is floating away to the CIS countries, where market control is much weaker. Among the medicines purchased for beneficiaries, NOT a SINGLE counterfeit medicine has been found so far.
Secondly, never buy medicines in dubious pharmacies, kiosks, pharmacy points and with your hands. Although they are slightly more expensive in chain pharmacies, but the guarantee of authenticity is an order of magnitude higher.
Of course, follow the notifications about the series of drugs seized by Roszdravnadzor. They include both low-quality and counterfeit medicines. Notices are published on the website http://www.roszdravnadzor.ru /. Despite the shortcomings that the pharmaceutical market control system has, it works quite effectively. If a fake is detected at least once, Roszdravnadzor "sits" on her tail for a long time – it will never be possible to cash in on her replication.
Contact the manufacturing companies - they can always confirm the authenticity of their drugs. Call them at the hotline numbers indicated on the packages, in the instructions for the drug or on the company's website.
Well, and get involved in the fight against the "pharmacists" themselves. In each region in the structure of the Department of Internal Affairs there are people engaged in the pharmaceutical market. If there is an assumption that you bought a fake, call and write directly there. There is someone there to check.
ON THE SAME DAY ON THE SAME TOPIC:In the Penza region, it was decided to involve the public in monitoring medicines coming to pharmacies.
Recently, batches of counterfeit pharmaceuticals have been increasingly appearing in pharmacies. Wholesalers who have already allowed the drug to be distributed to pharmacies are notified of the falsification and are waiting for the return of drugs from pharmacies.
In those pharmacies of the Penza region that have not returned the goods, social activists will conduct raids with the preparation of an act on low-quality products with its subsequent withdrawal.
The action is held by the Public Council under the Management of Roszdravnadzor in the Penza region.
To help the population, the newspaper "Penzenskaya Pravda" will publish batch numbers of counterfeit medicines.
Penza-PressThe customs services of the European Union confiscated 34 million packages of counterfeit medicines and chemicals suitable for the manufacture of drugs.
This was announced on December 16 by the press service of the European Commission.
The results of the first joint operation of the 27 EU countries, which lasted two months, "exceeded all expectations," the European Commission communique says. Among the medicines seized at customs, antibiotics, painkillers, Viagra, as well as medicines intended for the treatment of cancer and malaria predominate.
The main suppliers of confiscated medicines are India, Pakistan and China, some of the counterfeit pharmaceutical products came from Singapore and Syria.
As the representative of the European Commission noted, during this operation, the customs officers of the Brussels airport managed to carry out "the largest seizure of counterfeit medicines in Europe" – 2.2 million packages.
AMI-TASS Portal "Eternal youth" http://www.vechnayamolodost.ru/