Counterfeit medicines summit in US

The Partnership for Safe Medicines, a coalition devoted to combating the counterfeiting of prescription drugs, has announced that it will hold its inaugural conference in October in Washington, DC.

The coalition is made up of dozens of organisations and associations, including Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the Biotechnology Industry Organisation, the World Health Organisation (WHO), pharmacists' groups, patient organisations, and veterans' groups, among others. Sponsors of the first annual conference include Pfizer, Merck, Eli Lilly and Novartis.

The conference, which takes place at the National Press Club on October 8, will bring together leaders in academia, government and industry to explore strategies and policy recommendations aimed at combating counterfeiting.

The day will be divided into three main discussions: one on who is being harmed by counterfeiting, one on who is profiting by counterfeiting, and one on what progress has been made this year against counterfeiting. Moderators will include Dr Mary Shephard, director of the Centre for Pharmacoeconomic Studies at the University of Texas-Austin; Dr Bryan Liang, executive director of the Institute of Health Law Studies at California Western School of Law; and Tom Kubic, president of the Pharmaceutical Security Institute.