Global Pharma Health Fund

The Global Pharma Health Fund e.V. (GPHF) is a charitable organization initiated and funded exclusively by donations from Merck KGaA, Darmstadt Germany. In 2007, it took over the work of the former German Pharma Health Fund, which was set up in 1985. The organization aims to improve health care in the context of development assistance, in particular the use of the GPHF-Minilab in the fight against counterfeit drugs. GPHF-Minilab is a mobile mini-laboratory for rapid drug quality verification and counterfeit medicines detection protecting the health of millions of people anywhere in developing countries. It allows quick, reliable testing of more than 52 standard medicines, showing whether or not the right quantity of active ingredient is present. They have been selected on the basis of prevailing prescription practices, public health interest and existing counterfeit case reports, the current short list consisting of common antimicrobials, antihelminthics, antiretrovirals, antimalarials, antituberculosis and some other medicines. The GPHF-Minilab is specifically designed for use in developing countries which are heavily affected by counterfeit medicines and lack facilities for effective medicine testing. To date, more than 350 Minilabs have been supplied to health facilities in more than 70 countries already mostly in Africa and Asia.