Russia ratifies the Convention on counterfeiting of medicinal products

Print 21 December 2017
GMP News

During its plenary meeting held on 15 December, the State Duma ratified the Council of Europe Convention on the counterfeiting of medical products and similar crimes involving threats to public health.

This agreement was elaborated at the initiative and with the active participation of Russia. It was signed on behalf of the Russian Federation on 28 October 2011 in Moscow and entered into force on January 1, 2016. The document is the first pan-European agreement in the area of combating the counterfeiting of medical products.

The Convention aims to intensify, at a new level, the inter-state mechanisms for protection of the public against the risks associated with the circulation of counterfeit and poor quality medicinal products and medical devices. The main purpose of the agreement is to establish the criminal liability for counterfeiting the medical products and for similar crimes, including the manufacturing, storage, sale and counterfeiting of documentation and packaging.

The Convention also protects the rights of victims of such crimes, and develops the collaboration in the area of combating the counterfeiting of medical products at the national and international levels.

According to earlier statements by Leonid Slutsky, the Head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, the preparation for the ratification of the Convention involved the introduction of comprehensive amendments to the Russian laws in order to promptly identify and timely withdraw from circulation the unsafe pharmaceutical and medical products.

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