Participation in “Illicit Trade and Counterfeit Pharmaceutical Regional Enforcement Workshop”

At the invitation of the US Department of Justice, representatives of the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control took part in the regional workshop for law enforcement, customs, prosecutors and healthcare workers on combating illicit trade and falsification of medicines, which took place on 16-19 June 2026 in Krakow (Poland). The seminar was attended by about 40 participants, namely representatives of the police, border services, prosecutors’ offices, customs and healthcare workers of Ukraine, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The event was held at the initiative of the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

Speakers and moderators of the thematic panels were representatives of the University College London Pharmaceutical School (UK), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), other US institutions, who highlighted successful experience in countering new threats and practical aspects of investigations into counterfeit medicines, obtaining and preserving digital evidence, investigation methods, disrupting and destroying markets and supply chains of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, and strengthening control over the medicines circulation.

During the event, the participants exchanged information on the reasons for the increase in the volume of falsified and counterfeit medicines, the ways in which such products enter countries, including through illegal crossing of the state border, the features of detection and identification of counterfeit products, and also raised issues of violation of intellectual property rights in the production and distribution of counterfeit medicines.

Special attention was paid to the issues of public-private partnership, information exchange and interaction between pharmaceutical companies and government institutions in the field of prevention of counterfeit medicines’ circulation.