Fake medicines: a global threat.

COUNTERFEIT MEDICINES are a growing problem in developing and developed countries. In May, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced that £8.6 million of counterfeit and unlicensed medicines, including huge hauls of potentially harmful slimming pills, and controlled drugs such as diazepam and anabolic steroids, had been seized in the UK ( MHRA 2014 ).