Egypt continues to struggle with fake drugs reaching the hands of patients as the suppliers of counterfeit medicines become more sophisticated by adding company logos to packaging.

 

The Egyptian police have launched large-scale surveillance campaigns aimed at “Bir Al-Salam factories” which are known for manufacturing these drugs that include multiple unknown and harmful ingredients.

 

In the eyes of Egyptian law, the manufacturers of fake drugs are guilty of selling products not registered with the Ministry of Health, practising pharmacy without a license, fraud and flouting consumer protection laws.

 

According to police records, the Alexandria Security Directorate raided a factory that manufactures medicines, bottles, syringes and seized 60 drugs that were produced with fake materials identical to products made by some of the world’s most well-known pharmaceutical companies.

 

Two retail workers have caught the attention of the police for masterminding the illegal operations of manufacturing large quantities of fake drugs with the aim of putting them on the market to make a tidy profit. The people in question have also been found to have been collecting empty medicine packaging to authenticate their counterfeit products.

 

Following legal proceedings, the people in question were seized, their operations raided and 4000 bottles of expired medicine were found.

 

Additionally, a flat used for drug production was found above a famous pharmacy in Minya Sandoub of the Aga Center in Dakahlia Governorate.

 

The country is also struggling to control the rise in people selling and promoting fake medicines on Facebook. An individual found to be involved in this activity was recently seized in Heliopolis and was found to be in possession of two thousand packets of fake meds.

 

The most popular counterfeit drugs are said to be diet pills, sexual tonics, cure-all’s and products that claim to contain “100% natural ingredients.”

 

Other fake products that are infiltrating the Egyptian market include baby powder and contact lenses.

 

The recent announcement of the establishment of Egypt’s own Drug Authority comes at a good time as cases of fake drugs in the country continue to rise.