UAE denies fake drug claims

The UAE Ministry of Health has dismissed claims that counterfeit medicines are being re-exported from Dubai.

MoH undersecretary Dr Ali Shakar said all drugs entering the free zone were checked and that fake medicines were destroyed, Emirates Today reported.

The World Health Organisation said last week the UAE has become a hub for counterfeit medicines, with fake drugs accounting for 30% of all goods seized.

According to WHO representative Omar Tomey “One percent of counterfeit medicine discovered in the European Union comes from the UAE. Free zones all over the world are hot spots for counterfeit drugs.”

Shakar told Emirates Today counterfeit drugs recently seized on their way to the UK had been destroyed, and that locally-made medicines were carefully checked before export approval was granted.

Ahmed Butti Ahmed, Dubai Customs’ director general backed Shakar’s claims, telling the newspaper “Dubai has nothing to do with such drugs. The free zone is merely a transit point where drugs come from exporting countries to be sent to importing countries.”

Representatives from the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies called for a crackdown in August on counterfeit drugs after Dubai Customs seized a haul of medications worth an estimated AED5 million ($1.4million).

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations said Jebel Ali was a ‘black hole’ in the region’s supply chain and called for regional cooperation to clamp down on counterfeit traffic.

Dubai Customs seized over $5.4 million worth of counterfeit sexual stimulants and sedative drugs in September, in one of the region’s largest raids.