Policy approaches to tackling illicit activities in contemporary Britain, the example of pharmaceutical crime.

    Agon, Céline (2016)
Mémoire
Accès restreint
    • Policy approaches to tackling illicit activities in contemporary Britain, the example of pharmaceutical crime.
    • 19 septembre 2016
    • Politiques publiques
    • Grande-Bretagne contemporaine
    • Criminalité pharmaceutique
    • Trafic de faux médicaments
    • Approche comparative.
    • Public policies
    • Contemporary Britain
    • Pharmaceutical crime
    • Fake medicine trafficking
    • Fomparative approach
    • In 2007, more than two million doses of counterfeit medicines entered the British legal supply chain and some were even dispensed to patients. This case raised general awareness of health authorities, not only in the United Kingdom, but also in the other European countries as the 72 000 packs were medicines generally prescribed to treat diseases such as prostate cancer, heart troubles or schizophrenia. Until then, it was believed that fake medicines were solely found in the least developed countries or that, in developed countries, they involved “lifestyle drugs” such as slimming pills or erectile dysfunction treatment. This case showed that “life-saving” medicines distributed in the European Union were also at risk and brought into the limelight the powers of an original structure, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), a health agency endowed with law enforcement powers. Since 2007, the MHRA has taken the lead in the European coordination against fake medicine trafficking and plays a major role at international level. It is often cited as a model to follow in terms of public policies against pharmaceutical crime. This success is a good example of the United Kingdom’s global strategy to promote its interests and policies within the European Union. In order to study the original public policy conducted by the United Kingdom to tackle pharmaceutical crime, it was necessary to examine beforehand the crime policies implemented in contemporary Britain and their theoretical framework.
    • In 2007, more than two million doses of counterfeit medicines entered the British legal supply chain and some were even dispensed to patients. This case raised general awareness of health authorities, not only in the United Kingdom, but also in the other European countries as the 72 000 packs were medicines generally prescribed to treat diseases such as prostate cancer, heart troubles or schizophrenia. Until then, it was believed that fake medicines were solely found in the least developed countries or that, in developed countries, they involved “lifestyle drugs” such as slimming pills or erectile dysfunction treatment. This case showed that “life-saving” medicines distributed in the European Union were also at risk and brought into the limelight the powers of an original structure, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), a health agency endowed with law enforcement powers. Since 2007, the MHRA has taken the lead in the European coordination against fake medicine trafficking and plays a major role at international level. It is often cited as a model to follow in terms of public policies against pharmaceutical crime. This success is a good example of the United Kingdom’s global strategy to promote its interests and policies within the European Union. In order to study the original public policy conducted by the United Kingdom to tackle pharmaceutical crime, it was necessary to examine beforehand the crime policies implemented in contemporary Britain and their theoretical framework.

Citation bibliographique

Agon, Céline (2016), Policy approaches to tackling illicit activities in contemporary Britain, the example of pharmaceutical crime. [Mémoire]