Though India and other developing countries successfully aborted the IMPACT-sponsored attempt to redefine the term of `counterfeit’ pharmaceutical products, the issue is still being pushed by the multinationals aggressively and it will come up in the next World Health Assembly, it is learnt.

However, the issue is not coming up in the executive board meeting of the World Health Organisation scheduled next month. But what will be more worrying for the developing nations, especially India and Brazil, is that the matter was still on track and the WHO is still holding consultations on the topic with the controversial IMPACT is very much still involved in the process.

“Following discussions at the Sixty-first World Health Assembly and the 124th session of its Executive Board, WHO has established a programme to coordinate its work to combat counterfeit medicines. This programme includes coordination with members of the IMPACT Taskforce and providing it with secretariat support. During the next World Health Assembly (to be held in May 2010) the topic of counterfeit medicines will be discussed, to assist the Director-General in determining WHO's future efforts to fight this unacceptable threat to public health,” according to an official document from the WHO released recently.

Stringent regulatory control and enforcement contributes significantly to prevention and detection of counterfeit medicines in the pharmaceutical distribution chain. WHO accordingly provides direct country and regional support for strengthening medicines regulation. But to fight counterfeit medicines effectively, a range of stakeholders, not just health professionals, is needed. In 2006, WHO therefore helped create the International Medicinal Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce, commonly known as IMPACT, to bring these stakeholders together and encourage them to collaborate to protect patients from buying and taking potentially fatal, counterfeit medicines. IMPACT's current focus areas are: legislative and regulatory infrastructure; regulatory implementation; enforcement; technology; and communication, the document says.

Besides, the WHO secretariat is learnt to have asked the member states to submit their definitions about counterfeit drugs as per their respective laws, it is learnt. This is done in view the assembly in May and to prepare the baseline for discussions.