Falsified Drugs and Substandard Medicines: Scoping Review with ☸️SAIMSARA.

Name: SAIMSARA Evidence Object longevity::FALSIFIED_DRUGS_PM
Creator: SAIMSARA
License: https://saimsara.com/license/

SAIMSARA

doi:10.62487/saimsarad5b6dd2a

SAIMSARA Journal

Machine-Readable Science • ISSN 3054-3991

Falsified Drugs and Substandard Medicines: Scoping Review with ☸️SAIMSARA.

Longevity & Public Health

Issue 2, Volume 1, 2026

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DOI: 10.62487/saimsarad5b6dd2a

Editorial note

• Last update: 2026-06-05 20:26:50

What is this paper about

Falsified and substandard medicines are not a marginal pharmacy problem — they are a global public-health threat spanning antimalarials, antibiotics, anticancer agents, cardiovascular drugs, online semaglutide, benzodiazepines, supplements, and emerging synthetic opioids. Unlock the full review to explore 75 mapped references, 103 original studies, prevalence signals up to 59.5%, toxic contamination risks, detection technologies, and the supply-chain gaps that still leave patients exposed.

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Generated with SAIMSARA v5.0

Abstract: To comprehensively map the existing scientific literature on falsified drugs, including their prevalence across therapeutic classes and geographies, analytical detection technologies, health risks, and the awareness and behaviors of patients and healthcare professionals. The review uses 75 references and builds its evidence map from 103 original studies with 175875 total participants/sample observations (topic-deduplicated ΣN). The evidence synthesized here indicates that falsified and substandard medicines constitute a pervasive, cross-therapeutic threat concentrated in low- and middle-income settings but extending into online markets of high-income countries, with documented failure rates reaching 59.5% for antimalarials in Equatorial Guinea and 32.8% for antidiabetics across sub-Saharan Africa. Recurrent signals highlight direct toxicological harm from contaminants and undeclared actives alongside marked knowledge gaps among both pharmacists and patients. Low-cost spectroscopic and paper-based analytical technologies show promise as field-deployable screening tools, yet operational implementation gaps persist, as illustrated by authentication detection falling to 31.8% in real-world hospital use. These findings support a role for integrated supply-chain, analytical, and educational interventions tailored to high-risk distribution channels. Future research should prioritize prospective, harmonized surveillance linking point-of-care detection performance to clinical and antimicrobial-resistance outcomes.
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Keywords: Falsified medicines; Substandard drugs; Pharmaceutical quality; Drug counterfeiting; Supply chain integrity; Analytical detection methods; Public health risk; Online pharmacy regulation; Patient awareness; Postmarket surveillance

Review Stats

Final search date and database lock: 2026-05-27 12:11:58 CEST
Plan: Pro (expanded craft tokens; source: PubMed)
Source: PubMed
Total Abstracts/Papers: 224
Downloaded Abstracts/Papers: 224
Included original and non-original Abstracts/Papers (all): 169
Included original Abstracts/Papers (Vote counting by direction of effect): 103
Reference Index (links used in paper): 75
Total participants/sample observations (topic deduplicated ΣN): 175875

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Reference Index (75)

[1] Substandard and falsified antimicrobials in selected east African countries: A systematic review. — https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295956
[2] Tackling Counterfeit Drugs: The Challenges and Possibilities. — https://doi.org/10.1007/s40290-023-00468-w
[3] Falsification of biotechnology drugs: current dangers and/or future disasters? — https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpba.2018.08.037
[4] [Counterfeit and Falsified Drugs: an Overview]. — https://doi.org/10.2515/therapie/2015031
[5] Trends in counterfeit drugs and pharmaceuticals before and during COVID-19 pandemic. — https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2022.111382
[6] Advancing Pharmaceutical Security: Noninvasive Detection of Falsified Vaccines and Drugs Using wNMR. — https://doi.org/10.1007/s11095-025-03880-w
[7] Multifactor Quality and Safety Analysis of Semaglutide Products Sold by Online Sellers Without a Prescription: Market Surveillance, Content Analysis, and Product Purchase Evaluation Study. — https://doi.org/10.2196/65440
[8] Falsified Drugs in the Opinion of Patients Diagnosed with Cardiovascular Diseases-Nationwide and Cross-Sectional Study on the Example of EU-Member Country. — https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073823

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