The MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) has seized over 25 million illegally traded medicines and devices in the UK. Image Credit: stevecoleimages / Getty Images.

The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) celebrated 15 years since the launch of Operation Pangea by providing UK statistics from the programme.

The news of counterfeit Ozempic (semaglutide) pens has raised alarms over the last few months with the manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, and multiple countries reporting the harms of these products along with highlighting the differences in the packaging of the fake products, compared to the original.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

Operation Pangea is coordinated by Interpol with support from multiple global organisations including the World Customs Organization, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Narcotics Control Board, and national health regulatory agencies.

The agency stated that the MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) has seized over 25 million illegally traded medicines and devices in the UK, which are valued at more than £84m ($101.9m) in the past 15 years. Furthermore, the agency seized illegal medicines worth £5m in 2023.

Operation Pangea XVI, which ran from 3-10 October, led to the seizure of medications worth $7m, as per Interpol. Most seized medications globally were erectile dysfunction medications. The biggest medical device seizure was the confiscation of approximately 11,000 Covid-19 irregular test kits in Australia.

Counterfeit Covid-19 medical devices have been an ongoing issue before, with the previous iteration of Operation Pangea (Operation Pangea XIII) seizing some 37,000 counterfeit medical devices in 2021. As per WHO, approximately one in ten medical products in low-income and middle-income countries is substandard or falsified.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

There has been a 35% drop in the Covid-19 nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) market value in the US, as per GlobalData’s Covid-19 tests market model.