Fighting counterfeit products

Counterfeiting is a criminal act. Not only do counterfeits endanger the lives and well-being of patients, they also undermine the effectiveness of healthcare systems, health professionals and authentic medical products.

Roche cooperates fully with the national governments, authorities and international organisations responsible for preventing and responding to counterfeit issues. We also actively contribute to industry and governmental efforts to develop stronger laws and improve enforcement, educate the public and train local officials. Our goal is to support worldwide efforts to combat the public health threat caused by counterfeit medical products.

Roche’s medicines are available only by prescription and often require special handling and administration by trained staff, among other requirements. In contrast, unlicensed sources, such as illegal Internet pharmacies, have been found to sell counterfeit, stolen, damaged, or otherwise harmful medicines. That’s why we, along with numerous health authorities, strongly recommend buying prescription medicines only from trusted sources such as doctors or authorised pharmacies.

Roche fully supports and cooperates with governments and authorities investigations. Our policy ensures timely interaction with concerned parties, dissemination of information and analysis of suspected products. State-of-the-art technologies are employed by Roche laboratory to provide fast and reliable results about the authenticity of the suspect products.

We have also implemented anti-counterfeiting measures for the design, packaging and labelling of our products. And we are working with authorities on a system to track and trace products from distribution to dispensary.

However no anti-counterfeiting measure is infallible., so patients and healthcare providers need to remain vigilant, and take step to protect themselves.

If you are a healthcare provider and suspect that a patient has received a counterfeit product, you should report this immediately to your local health authority. You should also contact our Product Quality Assurance Department at Local AffiliateIf you are a patient experiencing any side effects, we recommend that you contact your healthcare provider immediately. If your healthcare provider suspects that the side effects are not related to the prescribed product or are different from those commonly associated with the drug, call your local health authority immediately. Additionally, your healthcare provider should report the event to our Drug Safety Department at Local AffiliateWe encourage patients with any questions about their treatment to speak with their healthcare provider.

If you have a product that you suspect to be counterfeit, or whose authenticity you cannot confirm, or if you suspect a patient may have received a counterfeit drug, you should immediately contact your local health authority. Also contact the Roche Product Quality Assurance Department at Local AffiliatePlease retain the suspected counterfeit product for further investigations.

The counterfeiting of medicines and diagnostic products pose a significant risk to the safety of patients. We are working with the appropriate health authorities and law enforcement agencies to combating this global threat to public health.

Roche has implemented anti-counterfeiting measures relating to the design, packaging and labelling of our products and is working with authorities on a system to track products from distribution to dispensary. We also work closely with health authorities and law enforcement agencies to combat the unsafe distribution of our products through unauthorised sources.

Roche takes very seriously compliance with relevant national and international standards, guidelines and regulations aimed at combating counterfeit medicines, active pharmaceutical ingredients and diagnostics. We demonstrate our support by participating in national and international industry and governmental efforts to develop stronger laws, improve enforcement, educate the public and train local officials.

We act immediately if a medical product is suspected of being a counterfeit of a Roche product. We cooperate closely with health authorities, collect and analyse product samples, and assemble a global team to coordinate our response. We may alert physicians, pharmacists or wholesalers and work with them to stop counterfeit products from reaching patients.

We vigorously pursue anyone who makes, distributes or sells counterfeit versions of our products and seek prosecution of such offenders.