Bolivian call for tougher sanctions on counterfeit drugs

Following the police seizure in Bolivia of some 40 tonnes of adulterated drugs between last December and January this year, there has been a call for more severe penalties on such activities for the authorities in the country.

It appears that the majority of counterfeits came from an importer company called ESKE SRL, which was selling drugs with expired use-by dates and, in others, it changed the expiration dates. Another company was producing high-consumption counterfeit medicines. It is reported that the head of the two companies will be prosecuted for crimes against public health that carries a penalty of up to seven years jail.

Bolivia's Minister of Health, Ramiro Tapia, reported that the government will start tracking counterfeit drugs, supported by students in biochemistry and policemen, and they will do so in all pharmacies around the country.