Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41181292›Full record

ArticleActa medica Philippina2025

Redefining Counterfeit Medicines and Updating the Legal Framework to Address Falsified Medicines: A Qualitative Policy Review.

Imelda G Peña, Yolanda R Robles, Roderick L Salenga, Monet M Loquias, Francis R Capule, Bryan Paul I Bulatao, Jean Flor C Casauay

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Article in Acta medica Philippina, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Imelda G PeñaInstitute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines Manila.
Yolanda R RoblesDepartment of Clinical, Social and Administrative Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, University of the Philippines Manila.
Roderick L SalengaDepartment of Clinical, Social and Administrative Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, University of the Philippines Manila.
Monet M LoquiasDepartment of Clinical, Social and Administrative Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, University of the Philippines Manila.
Francis R CapuleDepartment of Clinical, Social and Administrative Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, University of the Philippines Manila.
Bryan Paul I BulataoInstitute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines Manila.
Jean Flor C CasauayDepartment of Clinical, Social and Administrative Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, University of the Philippines Manila.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: The existence of counterfeit medicines has been a long-standing global public health concern. In the Philippines, Republic Act No. 8203 Section 3 provides a definition of counterfeit medicines, outlines prohibited acts, and states liabilities and penalties of concerned parties. The Philippine legal definition of counterfeit medicine needs to be aligned to what is widely accepted by the international community and to update its scope to prevent varied interpretations due to a mix in the categories of "counterfeit medicines." Objective: This qualitative narrative policy review aims to generate evidence on counterfeit and falsified medicines from grey literature and recent publications in order to propose recommendations for updating the legal framework to address specifically "falsified" medical products. Methods: An online search was performed to identify relevant literature that discussed counterfeit medications. A review of narrative textual evidence from grey literature was conducted including extraction of data on the proliferation of fake, unregistered, and substandard medicines from published news articles and reports for the past six years. A review of published literature was also conducted to supplement findings from aforementioned reports and articles. Results: Literature search revealed that the presence of counterfeit medicines remains prevalent in the country despite the enactment of RA 8203. Counterfeited products include over-the-counter medicines, prescription medicines, and vaccines. The classification of counterfeit medicines in grey literature, including news articles and FDA advisories, are aligned with the WHO definitions.

conclusionThere is a clear need to update the regulatory framework on counterfeit medicines which would entail revisiting RA 8203 to amend the definition of counterfeit medicines and other related provisions in alignment with the WHO definitions.

Indexed as

counterfeitdrugsfakefalsifiedmedicinePhilippinessubstandardunlicensedunregistered

Identifiers

PMID41181292
PMCPMC12572881

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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.