Aegate News

Twenty-three pharmaceutical companies join forces with Aegate in fight for patient safety

At the launch today of a white paper on the use of mass serialisation for patient safety, developed in collaboration with leading industry analysts Frost and Sullivan, Aegate's commitment to patient safety across Europe has been bolstered by the announcement that 23 leading pharmaceutical companies are now working alongside the company in its fight to assure the quality and safety of medicines that are dispensed to patients across Europe.

The counterfeit drug industry today is big business. Just last month, data released by the European commission indicated a 384% increase in the number of fake drugs seized in 2006 compared with the previous year.

Aegate, which provides a direct, IT-enabled communications link between pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies, now has the commitment from the majority of the leading pharmaceutical companies.

The impressive collaboration of so many industry players demonstrates the industry's collective commitment towards patient safety and corporate social responsibility goals. Industry collaboration will help ensure the safety of drugs dispensed and reduce the risk from substandard medicines, such as counterfeit, recalled or out of date items.

In addition, it affirms the strength of Aegate's business proposition in Europe and the significant impact its service has already had on patient safety in its three current operating markets: Belgium, Greece and Italy.

Because Aegate's communication channel delivers patient safety information so quickly, and at the time of dispensing, it not only protects patients but also ensures that pharmacists maintain a distinctive role at the centre of patient care, with the best information available to enable pharmacists to advise the patient in taking medicines correctly.

"To really make a difference, stakeholders from across the board need to commit and guide solutions such as the Aegate initiative, which will help put a stop to counterfeit medicines reaching the patient through the traditional supply chain," comments Andrew Calvert, Vice President, Financial & Business Services, Europe & Africa, Frost & Sullivan.

"The penny is finally starting to drop and the industry as a whole is realising the huge impact counterfeit drugs are having. This is exactly why the European Commission has just released its proposal for tackling counterfeit medicines, including stricter enforcement and inspection regimes and tighter security and repackaging measures," said Gary Noon, CEO of Aegate. "It has never been more important for the industry to work together to address the problem. Failure to do so will not only have a massive impact from a brand perspective, but more importantly, it will put the patient at risk from drugs which don't give the full benefit and treatment potential and therefore pose a serious risk to patients' health."

Alongside the commitment from these 23 companies, Aegate has strong endorsement from relevant pharmacy trade associations both in Greece and Belgium. Furthermore, Aegate has recently become a sponsor of the European Alliance for Access to Safe Medicines.

"Patients count on their pharmacist to provide authentic and safe medication. More and more pharmaceutical companies and regulators recognise the very practical and efficient Aegate system as an important tool to help us guarantee this," concludes Dirk Broeckx, Secretary General APB, (Association of Pharmacists in Belgium)