UNE’s Kenneth McCall interviewed for ‘NPR’ article on falsified medications

McCall

In a report released November 28, 2017, the World Health Organization revealed that an estimated "1 in 10 medical products circulating in low- and middle-income countries is either substandard or falsified." Furthermore, the findings detailed that there is an estimated 10.5% failure rate in all medical products used in low- and middle-income countries. Kenneth McCall, BSPharm, Pharm.D., CGP, associate professor for the Department of Pharmacy Practice, weighed in as an expert on the topic, discussing the implications of this failure rate with NPR.

“A 10.5 percent failure rate on medical products is unacceptable anywhere in the world. And that threat is growing, not diminishing, because it is a huge underground industry, a very profitable criminal industry that is even threatening our secure drug supply chain in the United States," McCall said.

McCall, who is on the board of directors for the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM), works with the organization to protect consumers against against counterfeit, substandard or otherwise unsafe medicines. Recently, the group connected dangerous counterfeit pain medications laced with fentanyl, which is 50 times more powerful than heroin, to deaths in 12 U.S. states.

"We know that it's contributing to the opioid crisis in the United States," says McCall.

 

To learn more about the 51Æ·²è’s College of Pharmacy, visit www.une.edu/pharmacy

To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions

 

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The 51Æ·²è is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.