PRESS RELEASE

10 July 2013

Mr.　Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), and Mr.　Philippe Lamoureux, Director General of LEEM ( Entreprises du Médicament, the French Association of Pharmaceutical Companies), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 10 July.

The signing of this MoU, which aims to combat the counterfeiting of medicines more effectively through increased co-operation between the two Organizations, is based on promoting the Interface Public-Members (IPM), the WCO’s online tool between Customs and the private sector, the joint development of Customs training tools and LEEM participation in setting up frontline WCO operations.

"On behalf of our members, I am very pleased to be able to increase our co-operation with the WCO in combating the counterfeiting of medicines thanks to this MoU. This partnership will make it easier for us to achieve our common objectives and better protect patients against counterfeit medicines, particularly in the developing countries most affected by this problem. Our collaboration will allow us to participate further in establishing the WCO’s network of experts in these regions by means of its online tool, IPM, which provides essential information to help distinguish between genuine and fake products," said LEEM Director General Philippe Lamoureux.

"Counterfeiting, especially of medicines, is a real danger to consumer health and safety, particularly in the world’s developing regions. The vast experience of LEEM and its Committee of Experts in combating counterfeiting will greatly contribute to the training of our Customs officers so that counterfeit and therefore potentially dangerous medicines can be detected more effectively," said Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the WCO.

The WCO and its Members are determined to work with all the relevant bodies to counter this threat by developing partnerships that will promote the introduction of joint, innovative and complementary measures to combat counterfeiting.