Patients first

WWARN Antimalarial Quality Module Head, Paul Newton, heads a call by leading scientists to put public health, rather than intellectual property, considerations first in defining poor quality medicines in efforts to improve the quality of medicines in developing countries. An essay published in the December 2011 issue of PLoS Medicine [link] examines how confusion over the definition of poor quality medicines is causing unacceptable delays in tackling this major public health issue. The high frequency of poor quality medicines in some countries puts patients’ lives at risk in the world’s neediest populations. The authors propose that the World Health Organization is supported and encouraged to take more urgent action in reaching agreement and  finding solutions to issues related to substandard and counterfeit medicines and a more prominent role in improving the world’s medicine quality and supply.