ArticleRevista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health2020
Substandard, falsified and unregistered medicines in Latin America, 2017-2018.
Article in Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed.
- Comparative Assessment of the Pharmaceutical Quality of Amoxicillin Capsules Marketed in Authorized and an Unregulated Point of Sale in Mexican Market.Therapeutic innovation & regulatory science · 2026Article
- Substandard and falsified systemic anti-infectives in Peru.Revista peruana de medicina experimental y salud publica · 2026Article
- Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of the Mexican Population Regarding the Disposal of Medications: A Cross-Sectional Study.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The hidden peril: Ecuador's struggle with substandard and falsified medicines.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- [Substandard and falsified medical products: 25 years of successful network collaboration among regulatory authorities in the AmericasProdutos médicos de qualidade inferior e falsificados: 25 anos de colaboração bem-sucedida em rede entre autoridades reguladoras da Região das Américas].Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2026Article
- Visual assessment of antimicrobial medicine packaging and labeling quality in pharmacies of Ho Municipality, Ghana.PloS one · 2026Article
- Dataset of Raman spectroscopy responses for over-the-counter drugs in Paraguay, including acetylsalicylic acid, paracetamol, and ibuprofen.Data in brief · 2024Article
- Quality Assessment of Selected Essential Antimicrobial Drugs from Drug Retail Outlets of Selected Cities in Eastern Ethiopia.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2024Article
- [Health alerts for substandard, falsified, and unregistered medical products at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the AmericasAlertas de saúde para produtos médicos abaixo do padrão, falsificados e não registrados no início da pandemia de COVID-19 nas Américas].Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2024Article
- A national survey on registered products, availability, prices, and affordability of 100 essential medicines in community pharmacies across Sri Lanka.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine-based counterfeit pills sold at tourist-oriented pharmacies in Mexico: An ethnographic and drug checking study.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2023Article
- Uncertainties about the quality of medical products globally: lessons from multidisciplinary research.BMJ global health · 2023Article
- Fentanyl, Heroin, and Methamphetamine-Based Counterfeit Pills Sold at Tourist-Oriented Pharmacies in Mexico: An Ethnographic and Drug Checking Study.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2023Article
- Substandard and Falsified Medications: A Barrier to Global Health Equity Exemplified in Ecuador.Neurocritical care · 2023Article
- The quality of veterinary medicines and their implications for One Health.BMJ global health · 2022Article
- Review
- Emerging Antimicrobial Drug Resistance in Africa and Latin America: Search for Reasons.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2022Review
- [Market surveillance and control of substandard, falsified and unregistered medicines: integrative reviewVigilancia y control de medicamentos subestándar, falsificados y no registrados: una revisión integral].Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2022Article
- Substandard and Falsified Medicines: Proposed Methods for Case Finding and Sentinel Surveillance.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo assess all the incidents of substandard, falsified and unregistered medicines in 2017 and 2018 in Latin America, determining the types of products affected, stages of the supply chain in which incidents were detected, quality deviations identified in tested samples, and regulatory measures taken by authorities.
methodsA comprehensive search of the websites of the Latin American national regulatory authorities was conducted, identifying all eligible incidents during 2017-2018. Standardized values were collected from each incident for pre-determined variables: country, year, type of incident, therapeutic group, supply chain, regulatory measures and laboratory data.
resultsA total of 596 incidents in 13 countries were included (236 substandard, 239 falsified, 116 unregistered and 5 stolen). The therapeutic categories with the highest incidents were: anti-infectives, medicines for pain/palliative care, hormones/contraceptives, medicines for the respiratory tract, and medicines for mental/behavioural disorders. The most common places where incidents were detected were commercial establishments, pharmacies, health services and manufacturers. The most recurrent quality deviations were failure in parameters (appearance or physicochemical), incorrect labelling, different quantity of active pharmaceutical ingredient, presence of unknown particles, and microbiological contamination. The most frequent regulatory measures identified were alerts, withdrawals, seizures, and prohibition of marketing/distribution/use.
conclusionsIn Latin America, substandard, falsified and unregistered medicines persist as a highly prevalent problem. An advanced degree of regulatory development in countries is associated with higher incident detection/reporting rates and a more comprehensive set of measures. The pharmaceutical supply chain is more vulnerable in its final node. Quality deviations identified in tested samples pose serious risks to public health.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.