The Sproxil Blog

Are you wondering whether the drugs you have just picked up from your local pharmacy will kill you, save your life, or make your disease drug resistant? Counterfeiting is a common problem and is a cause for serious concern. What if you could read a code on a panel on a drug package, send a simple text message containing that package’s unique code, and get back a message that the drugs were authentic and safe or fake to use? Does it sound like a vision of the future? Well it isn’t. It’s already here today. After successfully completing an initial test from February to May, Sproxil’s Mobile Product Authentication ^TM (MPA) is now in full release in Nigeria and has already received interest from a number of other countries.

MPA is an anti-counterfeiting system that allows you to test your drugs when you buy them. MPA uses simple methods to conquer a difficult problem. You do not need to buy or own any specialized device or equipment to check a drug. The solution provides automatic protection against counterfeiters. It is a quick, easy and effective way to discover whether drugs are real or fake. It is a very reliable service and doesn’t need any maintenance, calibration or regular testing like devices.

One of the greatest benefits of Sproxil’s anti-counterfeiting system is that it can be used by consumers without any technical hassles. The end user can make use of this opportunity to safeguard himself from the potential dangerous effects of fake drugs. Sproxil’s solution benefits governments, drug regulators and law enforcers, industry and professionals, foreign donors, foundations, and especially consumers. Everyone wins, except for the counterfeiters that is.



MSNBC’s video showing real and fake products side by side is very interesting. It highlights the challenges faced by consumers everyday as they seek to avoid fake products in the $600 billion counterfeit marketplace.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Counterfeit drugs are being labeled as one of the most dangerous terrorists by Wiltshire C.N. Johnson, the Registrar of the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone. He said that counterfeit drugs are responsible for many deaths of people in the society. According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 30% of medications on the market in developing countries such as Africa are counterfeit. Counterfeit medicines are deliberately and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to identity and/or sources. They are typically designed to fool buyers by using misleading packaging and mimicking the shape, color, size and imprints of genuine drugs.

Counterfeit medicines pose a significant public health risk. They can lead to treatment failure, organ dysfunction and damage, worsening chronic disease condition and can cause early death. The intake of fake drugs has an adverse effect on the immune system as well. This affects the recovery of a patient from the disease process. Johnson told journalists at a symposium held at the conference room of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists in Freetown that drugs counterfeiting was not a new phenomenon, noting that “it is a murder perpetuated by faceless money makers.”

Globally, there is ample evidence of the presence of organized criminal networks in counterfeit pharmaceutical trafficking. Johnson claimed that drugs counterfeiting was a corporate global network and that people sell them because they want to make money. “The fight against drugs counterfeiting should not be left in the hands of the pharmacy board alone but needs the cooperation of everyone,” he noted.

In 2010, the illegal market in counterfeit medicines alone is expected to raise approximately US$75 billion in revenues for smugglers. This represents an increase of 92% compared to 2005. In some African and Asian countries reports are that up to 90% of medicines are counterfeit. The loss of life resulting directly and indirectly from the proliferation of counterfeit pharmaceuticals has already taken on huge proportions. The time to intervene is now. Every day counts in this battle against these killers.

Counterfeit drugs, including fake, substandard, adulterated or falsely labeled medicines, have become a growing threat to global health. The problem is especially serious in developing countries. Thousands of people die from ineffective medicines and millions more from the drug resistant strains of pathogens. A 2009 report from the International Policy Network revealed that fake tuberculosis and malaria drugs alone may kill about 700,000 people a year.

Perhaps the greatest single widespread disease being boosted by the presence of fake drugs is malaria. A 2006 study published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene found that 68 percent of anti-malaria drugs found in Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia did not contain the correct amount of active ingredient. Malaria claims a child’s life every thirty seconds and over a million lives annually but the WHO estimates that 200,000 of those deaths could be prevented if all anti-malarials were genuine.

Counterfeit malaria drugs are contributing to a growing resistance to the treatment of disease. Many drugs are cheaply made and do not contain the right chemistry or are stored at incorrect temperatures. Some of them are deliberate fakes that have authentic looking pills and packaging but contain only a small percentage of the active ingredient in each pill. Resistance to a drug develops when the pathogen is exposed to low levels or incorrect doses of a medication.

Counterfeit drug makers have learned to thwart the system by adding minimal levels of active ingredients so that quality screening tests reveal a false positive.  These types of counterfeits are ineffective at killing the parasite infection and increase the likelihood of mutation and resistance. People in Cambodia are unknowingly using improper drugs and fake drugs which create resistance. This is causing the death of growing numbers of Cambodians from malaria even while taking anti-malarial medicines.

A recent study conducted a quality assessment test of available anti-malarials in six urban or rural settings in southeast Nigeria. Thirty seven percent of the tested drugs did not meet USP standards. Furthermore, this study implied that drug quality in rural settings was significantly worse than in urban settings, with 66% of quinine medications were substandard as compared to 43%, respectively. This suggests that the poor socio-economic groups often receive the lowest quality of treatment, perpetuating a cycle of poverty in endemic areas.

Counterfeit drugs are a major barrier to combating malaria throughout the underdeveloped world. Consumers can only protect themselves by paying attention to the drugs they take. The idea is to closely examine drugs, use available anti-counterfeiting solutions and report anything suspicious to appropriate authorities.

Every day in some parts of the world, consumers have to face a key decision point. “Should I go for the red shoes or the blue ones? Wait for next year’s model, or go for that new car next week?” In many developing nations, consumers often have to deal with this decision too: “Which anti-malarial will cure (and not kill) my toddler?”…

See more here and catch our mention on helping solve the pharmaceutical cargo theft and diversion problem here.

Sproxil has just been recognized by Unite For Sight, a leading NGO that has provided high-quality eye care to 1,000,000 medically underserved persons so far. To the admiration of many, Unite For Sight has far exceeded its original goal of bringing affordable healthcare to deprived communities, and now shares its experience on how to make significant impact in Global Health with the next generation of social impact drivers. We hold their work in high regard, that’s why we decided to participate in their annual Global Health/Innovate conference last quarter.

As part of their programs, Unite For Sight operates a Global Health University with many resources available through their website for free. Unite For Sight’s Global Health University prepares young and bright minds towards making an impact in society by addressing healthcare concerns. With the appropriate support ecosystem, such passionate change drivers can become tomorrow’s global leaders. If you take a look at the Clinic Challenges in Resource-Poor Settings Online Course you will see the Sproxil case study.

We continue to work with highly reputable independent organizations to assess our impact and we’ll keep you posted – we’ve got some good stuff coming this quarter.

Drug serialization is the process of identifying a medicine with a unique serial number that can be shared with others if necessary. It helps to track the movement of drugs within supply chains. Last year Brazil laid out a three-year comprehensive plan using serialization to stop the counterfeit drug market there.

On January 14 2009, law Nº 11.903 was passed that mandates drug manufacturers and distributors in Brazil implement track and trace drug serialization. It created the National System of Medications’ Control to oversee the production, marketing, and distribution of medicines amongst other controls. Control will be by means of a serialized identification system including electronic capture, storage and transmission.

The law was scheduled to be implemented in steps over a 3 year timeframe to adequately prepare for the changes and stipulated the following deadlines:

• 2010 – Manufacturers and Suppliers
• 2011 – Purchasers, Products and Transportation and Logistics
• 2012 – Consumer/patient, Prescription and Doctors

However the scale and breadth of such a massive undertaking have already caused delays and the 2010 deadline seems to be slipping. Still we strongly support these efforts as moving in the right direction.

Drug serialization will help patients to get authentic drugs and medical devices and reduce the incidents of counterfeits. Pharmaceutical companies will also benefit as serialization will ultimately reduce logistics costs help to avert theft at various levels of their supply chains.

Kenya is another key African market that has been attacked by counterfeiters. Some brand owners are losing entire countries to counterfeiting:

Haco Industries alone has lost the entire Tanzanian market due to counterfeits, which is about Sh200 million

See the article here.

Drug counterfeiting has reached a level that threatens to damage the entire medical system and pharmaceutical industry.  Reuters recently reported that counterfeiting drugs are now $200 billion a year global business. The condition is more severe in developing countries like India where networks of distributors and laboratories making counterfeit drugs are strong.

In the past few months the Food and Drug Administration of India conducted several raids and apprehended numerous people involved in fake drug trafficking. Even in the cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai pharmacists are selling fraudulently mislabeled and substandard drugs without any fear. The drugs were often found to be contaminated with paints, chalk powder and other impurities. Some drugs were degraded because of poor storage or they were repackaged after expiry. Several supposedly life saving drugs and antibiotics were without active ingredients.

According to Dr. Roger Bate, Legatum Fellow in Global Prosperity, “Since drugs made in India are sold around the world, the country’s substandard drug trade represents a grave public health threat that extends far beyond the subcontinent. Unless serious steps are taken to improve the quality of the Indian drug supply, the global spread of unsafe pharmaceuticals will persist.”

The Indian pharmaceutical industry is about $10 billion and some sources estimate that 10% of it is producing sub-standard drugs. Thousands of people die every year after consuming counterfeit or substandard drugs. In parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America it is estimated that 30% of all medicines imported from India and China are substandard. Fake drugs are a real threat to industry as well and are putting the goodwill of physicians and pharmaceutical companies at stake.

To stem the tide of counterfeit drugs concrete steps need to be taken at every level from manufacturers to distributors to regulatory authorities. The current anti-counterfeiting legislation in India has not stopped drug offenses. Penalties for making and selling fake drug are negligible compared to the profits. Huge profits drive more and more people to sell counterfeit drugs. Laws and regulations for selling narcotics like opium and cocaine are more severe thus encouraging criminals to manufacture counterfeit drugs rather than trade in narcotics.

Regulatory authorities need to be even more attentive.  Drug inspectors need to be more vigilant in carrying out their duties. Customers can help too and should be aware of new technologies that are in use to detect fake drugs.

Contact:
Amanda Griffith
Bumble PR
617-851-8335 (direct)
amanda@bumblepr.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPROXIL, INC. WINS BOSTON IBM SMARTCAMP EVENT

Company Selected By Entrepreneurs, Investors and Industry Experts as City’s “Smartest” Start-Up

Somerville, MA, June 3, 2010 — Sproxil, Inc. today announced that it has won IBM’s SmartCamp Boston, held on June 3, 2010. IBM’s SmartCamps bring together five start-ups with 25 world-class entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts for a single day to work to build a Smarter Planet. The objective of the program is help companies build an ‘investor ready’ commercial proposition to secure funding, with winners eligible for a three-month IBM mentorship program.

Sproxil’s Mobile Product Authentication^TM (MPA) solution enables consumers to text message an item-unique code for a rapid response that confirms a brand’s genuineness. For example, in Nigeria, consumers purchase medications with a scratch card attached to the package.  They then scratch and text the unique numbers on the scratch card to a shortcode to instantly receive an SMS reply confirming the genuineness or fakeness of the product. To date, the company has coded more than 800,000 packages of Glucophage, used to treat diabetes.

“IBM’s SmartCamp provided a unique opportunity for Sproxil to gain valuable feedback from some of the industry’s greatest minds about our vision of using technology to help solve the world’s counterfeit pharmaceuticals problem,” said Ashifi Gogo, CEO of Sproxil, Inc. “Winning Boston’s event validates our  offering as an easy, simple-to-use solution that holds great promise for other industries as well. We look forward to continuing these strategic discussions in Dublin this November.”

Sproxil competed alongside myriad companies during this exclusive event, including the four other innovative start-up finalists – Sendsor, SkyMeter, Proxpro, and GIS Cloud – to take top honors in Boston. IBM SmartCamp events will also be held in Tel Aviv, London, Silicon Valley and Paris, with one winner from each city selected to travel to Dublin, Ireland this Fall to compete for the title of “The World’s Smartest Startup.”

About Sproxil

Sproxil, Inc., a privately backed organization, provides world-class brand protection for emerging markets through software and services that work anywhere there are mobile phones. Simple, easy to use and with no consumer capital investment, Sproxil offers a comprehensive anti-counterfeiting strategy for cash-based societies. Delivering automatic protection, simple labels and robust back-end analytics with its Mobile Product Authentication^TM (MPA) solution, Sproxil enables consumers to text message an item-unique code for a rapid response that confirms a brand’s genuineness. Our solution also helps companies connect directly to their consumers through customized text message responses – such as disease management tips – and ads that specifically target those demographics with known buying behaviors. Learn more at www.sproxil.com.

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