Are Counterfeit Medicines on the Rise?

The prevalence of counterfeit medicines has often been thought as rare in developed countries. This view is changing and changing fast as seizures of counterfeits are on the rise overseas and here in the United States, but perhaps most alarming is the rate of which they are increasing as portrayed in a recent article in Bloomberg News.

According to Pharmaceutical Security Institute, an organization of 26 drug makers, seizures of counterfeits jumped 24 percent in 2007, which amounted to 403 different fake medications confiscated in 99 countries in 1,513 incidents.

Troubling is the fact that copies of 19 of the world’s 25 best-selling medications are among those seized by industry security, customs agents and police last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.

These trends emphasize a need to strengthen our security measures here in the U.S. against an emerging sophisticated criminal element, which seeks to profit at the expense of our health.

We must take a proactive approach to secure our supply chain and most importantly protect our consumers!