Scientists, police lift lid on fake malaria drugs

By Ben Hirschler

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists and police have exposed a major Asian trade in life-threatening fake malaria drugs, resulting in the seizure of hundreds of thousands of tablets and the arrest of a dealer in southern China.

Details of the unique collaboration, made public on Tuesday, highlight the growing threat posed by the trade in counterfeit medicines and the difficulty of tracing the suppliers.

The problem is acute in Southeast Asia, where researchers have identified counterfeit versions of the malaria drug artesunate as a problem since 1998.

An investigation coordinated by Interpol, with input from international researchers, found as many as half of the malaria tablets sampled in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and on the Thai/Myanmar border were counterfeit.

They were disguised with authentic-looking packaging, including 16 different types of fake holograms.

Artesunate forms an essential part of artemisinin-based combination therapy, recommended as the mainstay of malaria treatment by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2001.

Most of the counterfeits examined contained no active drug and some had potentially toxic ingredients, including banned pharmaceuticals and even the raw material for making ecstasy.

Worryingly, some tablets also contained small amounts of artesunate, possibly to foil screening tests.