Ahmed Butti Ahmed, the director general of Dubai Customs, with counterfeit and genuine drugs.
Ahmed Butti Ahmed, the director general of Dubai Customs, with counterfeit and genuine drugs.
Ahmed Butti Ahmed, the director general of Dubai Customs, with counterfeit and genuine drugs.
Ahmed Butti Ahmed, the director general of Dubai Customs, with counterfeit and genuine drugs.

Barcode strategy in war against counterfeit medicines


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ABU DHABI // All medicines in the capital could soon be marked with high-tech barcodes to try to stamp out the huge market in counterfeit drugs. The Health Authority-Abu Dhabi (HAAD) plans to use the system to track and trace the supply and distribution of legitimate medicines. An estimated Dh1.4 billion is spent on pharmaceuticals each year in the UAE. Although precise figures are difficult to come by, globally it is estimated that fake drugs worth about 10 per cent of the legitimate market are seized each year.

Dr Mohammed Abuelkhair, the head of drug regulation at HAAD, said the new system could be in place early next year. If it is a success, he said, HAAD would present its findings to the federal Ministry of Health. "The barcode is placed on every package of medicine," he said. "All the medicines that comes into the country goes to the agent, and before it leaves the agent it will be barcoded with a special, unique, code, then it goes to the pharmacies."

Distributing agents would have to liaise with the authority to work out what barcodes they would need. Every box of medicine will come with a randomly selected number and barcode containing information about the manufacturer, batch number and expiry dates. It will also include information such as dose and strength. Dr Abuelkhair said: "The pharmacies can use the barcode for point-of-contact sale, but also to verify that the medicine is genuine.

"And the patient can go home with the packet, dial a number, and, using the code on the box it will tell him about the medicine so he knows whether it is real or fake." It would be almost impossible for counterfeiters to forge the numbers because they would be randomly selected and unique to each packet. If they did try, he said, it would trigger an alarm when the genuine number is scanned by a pharmacy at the point of sale.

Dr Abuelkhair said the risks of taking fake medicines ranged from antibiotic resistance to death, depending on the ingredients. A series of raids in Egypt in 2008 found counterfeit medicines valued at hundreds of millions of dollars and "exposed a criminal network feeding consumers across the Middle East", according to the World Health Organisation. The Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, which is based in the US, estimates that global counterfeit drug sales could reach US$75 billion (Dh275bn) this year.

In May, Dubai Customs seized seven million sexual stimulant and fertility drug tablets from a warehouse in the dry port, estimated to be worth as much as $70m. Yasar Yaman, the regional director of global security at Pfizer, which makes the male impotence drug Viagra, said the company had found fake medicines made in "rodent and pest-infected" laboratories. Around 40 Pfizer medicines are known to have been counterfeited.

Mr Yaman, who is based in Dubai, said: "We've also seen supposedly 'sterile' injectables filled with ordinary tap water in bathrooms." Ingredients have included brick dust, antifreeze, paint, arsenic, plaster and wallboard. Since 2004, more than 58 million counterfeit Pfizer tablets, capsules and vials have been seized. In the UAE the company has identified fake versions of Lipitor, used to treat high cholesterol, and Viagra. Mr Yaman said he recognised that these may only be the tip of the iceberg.

Dr Abuelkhair said it was often difficult to tell how fake medicines entered the market. Some may come in the mail as private packages, others are sold by wholesalers. As counterfeiting grows more sophisticated, it is becoming increasingly difficult to spot a fake without testing it in a laboratory. Ashley How, a UK-based member of the Pharmaceutical Security Initiative, a non-profit anti-counterfeiting initiative, said the packaging was particularly hard to tell apart from that of legal medicines.

"It is so similar to the genuine packaging, a system of authenticating the genuine from the counterfeit is essential," he said. "At the pharmacy level it's the pharmacist that has the last bit of real control over that individual package before it's handed to the patients." Mr How said a system was required that would allow pharmacists to check authenticity by quickly scanning the package. munderwood@thenational.ae

Other IPL batting records

Most sixes: 292 – Chris Gayle

Most fours: 491 – Gautam Gambhir

Highest individual score: 175 not out – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)

Highest strike-rate: 177.29 – Andre Russell

Highest strike-rate in an innings: 422.22 – Chris Morris (for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017)

Highest average: 52.16 – Vijay Shankar

Most centuries: 6 – Chris Gayle

Most fifties: 36 – Gautam Gambhir

Fastest hundred (balls faced): 30 – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)

Fastest fifty (balls faced): 14 – Lokesh Rahul (for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2018)

 

MATCH INFO

Chelsea 1
Alonso (62')

Huddersfield Town 1
Depoitre (50')

RACE SCHEDULE

All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Friday, September 29
First practice: 7am - 8.30am
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Saturday, September 30
Qualifying: 1pm - 2pm

Sunday, October 1
Race: 11am - 1pm

How to report a beggar

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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

THE%C2%A0SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.4-litre%20four-cylinder%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20210hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Starting%20from%20Dh89%2C900%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')

Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)

Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

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1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

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3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

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THE APPRENTICE

Director: Ali Abbasi

Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong

Rating: 3/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

Mina Cup winners

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Top tips

Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
 

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Results:

5pm: Handicap (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600 metres

Winner: Dasan Da, Saeed Al Mazrooei (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)

5.30pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600m

Winner: AF Saabah, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

6pm: Handicap (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600m

Winner: Mukaram, Pat Cosgrave, Eric Lemartinel

6.30pm: Handicap (PA) | Dh80,000 | 2,200m

Winner: MH Tawag, Richard Mullen, Elise Jeanne

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) | Dh70,000 | 1,400m

Winner: RB Inferno, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed

7.30pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh100,000 | 1,600m

Winner: Juthoor, Jim Crowley, Erwan Charpy

The Specs

Engine 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 582bhp (542bhp in GTS model)

Torque: 730Nm

Price: Dh649,000 (Dh549,000 for GTS) 

While you're here
Super Saturday results

4pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 | US$350,000 | (Dirt) | 1,200m
Winner: Drafted, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).

4.35pm: Al Bastakiya Listed | $300,000 | (D) | 1,900m
Winner: Divine Image, Brett Doyle, Charlie Appleby.

5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 | $350,000 | (Turf) | 1,200m
Winner: Blue Point, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.

5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 | $350,000 | (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Muntazah, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.

6.20pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 | $300,000 | (T) | 2,410m
Winner: Old Persian, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.

6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Group 1 | $600,000 | (D) | 2,000m
Winner: Capezzano, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.

7.30pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 | $400,000 | (T) | 1,800m
Winner: Dream Castle, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.

Overview

Cricket World Cup League Two: Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu

Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal