"We will develop a program according to what is best for the international community and what will save lives, " Aline Plancon, head of Interpol's counterfeiting and pharmaceutical crime program, told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview.
Interpol's newly created Pharmaceutical Crime Program aims to help health agencies, police and customs bureaus in countries around the globe stem the supply of bogus brand-name and generic medicines, as well as identify and dismantle the organized crime rings distributing them.
The American Health Institute, the association that represents large agriculture and pharmaceutical industries, supports the NARMS monitoring program as "it provides an important early warning system on the potential for the emergence of antibiotic resistance bacteria, " said Ron Phillips, vice president for legislative and public affairs, in an e-mail.