HSA Updates
INTERPOL and HSA Conduct Training on "Investigation of Pharmaceutical Crimes"
Audiences
Consumer
Healthcare professional
Industry member
Product type
Others
27 April 2012
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From 23-27 April 2012, 24 participants from 13 countries gathered in Singapore for the first ‘Train-the-Trainer' course of the Storm Enforcement Network, which was set up as a joint effort by INTERPOL, the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Western Pacific Regional Office, police, customs and National Regulatory authorities of participating countries with the objective to combat the problem of counterfeit medicines in Southeast Asia.
2 Co-organised by INTERPOL's Medical Products Counterfeiting and Pharmaceutical Crime (MPCPC) Unit, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) of Singapore, the Institute of Research Against Counterfeit Medical Products (IRACM), and with the support of the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office, the 5-day course aimed at providing government officials with the appropriate skills to teach their peers about pharmaceutical crimes investigations.
3 Participants were taught how to effectively detect and investigate pharmaceutical crimes. The course included lectures by police and health products regulators, case studies based on pharmaceutical crime scenarios, and visits of facilities.
4 The training was held at the HSA in Singapore. The participants are representatives of police, customs and health regulatory agencies of Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore. (Please refer to the Annex for a photograph.)
5 In his opening speech, Associate Professor John Lim, CEO of HSA Singapore, emphasised the need for coordinated action in tackling pharmaceutical crimes. “Given today's globalised environment, it is difficult for countries to work in isolation in countering pharmaceutical crimes. Trafficking in illegal medicines has become such a lucrative trade that transnational syndicates are able to devise a whole range of ways and means to enable their illegal activities. It is only through close collaborative efforts to share timely intelligence and operational know-how that enforcement and regulatory agencies in different jurisdictions will be better positioned to stem this growing threat,” said Associate Professor John Lim.
6 Aline Plancon, Head of INTERPOL's Medical Counterfeit and Pharmaceutical Crime Unit said the session, the first in a series of joint training programmes, was an important step forward in the development of the Storm Enforcement Network.
7 In June 2011, INTERPOL and HSA Singapore signed a cooperation agreement to provide investigation and training of law enforcement officers focusing on counterfeit medical products and pharmaceutical crime as well as chemical analysis assistance.
HEALTH SCIENCES AUTHORITY
27 APRIL 2012