MD News: Counterfeit Drugs Prove to be an Increasing Problem

The economic downturn and continuously rising drug prices can influence consumers to seek cheaper prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs from unauthorized providers and online sources.

MD News, America's leading business and practice management magazine for physicians reports on the Pharmaceutical Security Institute report regarding growth of counterfeit drugs and how physicians need to be counseling their patients on the dangers of bogus medications.

Highlighted in the MD News story:

• The Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI) reports that counterfeit drugs have tripled since 2004 to a startling 1,700 incidents worldwide in 2009. It is estimated that the size of the counterfeit drug market ranges from $75 billion to $200 billion each year. PSI suspects this number to likely be much larger since most cases of counterfeit drugs are hard to detect.

• Stress to your patients the serious consequences of purchasing counterfeit drugs. These fakes may include too much, too little or none of the ingredients found in the real medications, which could be detrimental to a patient’s health.

Healthcare professionals need to a primary conduit in informing their patients and the healthcare consumer of the dangers of fraudulent, adulterated, sub-standard and counterfeit drugs.

Today more than ever the populations around the globe are all at risk from the effects of the proliferation of these potentially lethal fakes.

To read the entire MD News story, visit: http://www.mdnews.com/news/2010_12/national_dec10_counterfeit-drugs-prove-to-be-an-increasing-problem

To learn more about pharmaceutical anti-counterfeiting solutions, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/

USA Today: Growing Problem of Fake Drugs Hurting Patients, Companies

Counterfeit drugs made in Asia and other emerging markets are a growing problem that's endangering consumers' health and chipping away at drug companies' profits.

Kathy Chu in the Monday, September 13th issue of the USA Today writes an excellent story regarding the growing problem of counterfeit drugs globally. Ms. Chu cites some fresh industry statistics and pharmaceutical security insiders in her piece.

Here are some of the highlights from Ms. Chu’s USA Today article:

• Last year, nearly 1,700 incidents of counterfeit drugs were reported worldwide, triple the number in 2004, says the Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI), a group funded by drugmakers. Estimates for the size of the counterfeit drug market range from $75 billion to $200 billion a year. The market is likely much bigger because many cases are hard to detect.

• Fake drugs are a "money machine" whose sales are growing at twice the rate of legitimate pharmaceuticals, says Peter Pitts, president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest.

• A weak economy along with rising drug prices are likely leading consumers to seek out cheaper products online or from unauthorized providers, stoking demand for counterfeit drugs, says Bryan Liang, a board member at the Partnership for Safe Medicines. More than 50% of the medicine bought from certain illegal websites has been found to be fake, according to the World Health Organization.

• Scott Davis, a senior regional director in U.S. drug giant Pfizer’s global security division, believes it's not cheaper prices that drive consumers to counterfeit medicine, but their "lack of education and awareness of the dangers." Counterfeit medicine may include too much, too little or none of the ingredients found in the real product, causing injury and in extreme cases, death.

• Today, drug rings in Asia, particularly in China and India, are increasingly churning out fake versions of popular brands and generics, then selling them to consumers online or in the black market. PSI estimates that fake versions of about 800 pharmaceutical products were made last year.

• Counterfeiters are now able to fake drugs so well, even experts find it hard to distinguish the copies from the real deal. And they're able to replicate security devices such as holograms only a few months after pharmaceutical companies put these features on their packages.

• "You can make more money in counterfeit drugs than heroin," says Tom Kubic, CEO of PSI. "There's a major financial incentive for criminals because of the low risk of detection and prosecution."

• In many countries, penalties on fake drugmakers aren't strong enough to deter their illicit activities, says Lembit Rägo, coordinator for medicines quality and safety at the WHO. Countries including China, however, have stepped up their efforts related to detection and seizure of counterfeit drugs.

• Fake drugs also put pharmaceutical makers' profits at risk by diverting consumers away from the legitimate products, Liang says. While counterfeit drugs are more common in emerging economies, they also pose a threat to consumers in developed countries, such as the U.S., who are buying medicine online. "When the patient gets away from trusted sources, that's where I see the problem in the developed world," Davis says.

Huge profits, sophisticated criminals along with lax regulatory and legal penalties, make this the “perfect crime” that impacts the health and well being of entire populations often with deadly consequences.

This epidemic goes well beyond the unsophisticated supply chains of undeveloped nations, consumers all over the globe are unwittingly victims of this deadly act.

Pointed out in the article is the criminals ability to react to covert packaging protections, which means that they can easily fool basic Track and Trace technologies which currently comprises the majority of technologies used in defeating counterfeiters.

Secure Pharma Chain endorses authentication, as the most effective way in defeating counterfeiters and verifying that the products and inventories within the supply chain are genuine and safe for consumers to take.

To read the entire USA Today story, visit: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2010-09-12-asia-counterfeit-drugs_N.htm.

To learn more about pharmaceutical authentication technologies, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

The Economist: Fake Drugs

Counterfeit drugs used to be a problem for poor countries. Now they threaten the rich world, too.

In the September 2nd edition of The Economist, they have an excellent piece on the issue of counterfeit drugs.

The Economist story focuses on updated statistics, industry insight, on how globally there is lax regulatory enforcement/punishment and how this deadly crime is impacting health care outside of the third world.

Highlighted in The Economist:

· Drug smugglers can expect harsh penalties nearly everywhere—if the drugs in question are heroin or cocaine. Those who smuggle counterfeit medicines, by contrast, have often faced lax enforcement and light punishment. Some governments deem drug-counterfeiting a trivial offence, little more than a common irritant.

· The pharmaceutical industry has persuaded several governments to stiffen regulations against fake drugs and to conduct more aggressive raids (see chart). Companies are also devising novel technologies to outfox the criminals. Even the Catholic church is joining the cause, issuing a stern statement in August that it is in “the best interest of all concerned that smuggling of counterfeit drugs be fought against”.

· Counterfeit drugs can kill. Studies of anti-infective treatments in Africa and South-East Asia have found that perhaps 15-30% are fakes. The UN estimates that roughly half of the anti-malarial drugs sold in Africa—worth some $438m a year—are counterfeits.

· Roger Bate of the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank in Washington, DC, cautions that any such estimates should be treated with care. The countries with the most fakes may not be cracking down, so official figures will look rosy; in contrast, countries with a smaller counterfeit trade that are vigilant may end up with more seizures. The World Health Organization agrees, and has recently taken its estimates off its website. Even so, Mr Bate says his field work has convinced him that counterfeits kill at least 100,000 people a year, mostly in the poor world.

· Now it appears that fakes are taking off in the rich world too. Yes, Viagra still tops the list of knock-offs seen by Pfizer, says John Clark, the American drug firm’s global head of security; but fake versions of at least 20 of its products (including Lipitor, a blockbuster cholesterol drug) have been detected in the legitimate supply chains of at least 44 countries. Mr Clark’s intelligence comes from Pfizer’s global network of informants, consumer tip-offs and in-store inspections. He sees worrying trends.

· Counterfeiters used to operate chiefly in developing countries, says Mr Clark, but now his firm sees fakes coming from such rich and well-regulated places as Canada and Britain. And the crooks are growing more technologically sophisticated: some can even counterfeit the holograms on packets that are meant to reassure customers that pills are genuine.

· A consumer study funded by Pfizer recently found that nearly a fifth of Europeans polled in 14 countries had obtained medicines through illicit channels. That, the firm reckons, makes for a grey market in the EU of over €10 billion ($12.8 billion). Terry Hisey of Deloitte, a consultancy, thinks the global market for fakes could be worth between $75 billion and $200 billion a year. Those staggering sums, he argues, help explain the emergence of a flurry of new technologies and companies hoping to help the drugs industry “secure its global supply chain”.

The Economist outlines several technologies used in the fight against counterfeit drugs but comments:

· Thomas Kubic of the Pharmaceutical Security Institute, an industry-funded outfit, gives warning that this war will be hard to win. After more than 30 years as an investigator, he is sure that crooks will eventually find a way around any defence.

· Even so, he thinks novel approaches such as mobile-based validation may “harden the target”, just as a burglar alarm makes your home somewhat trickier to rob. If the cost and complexity of faking drugs goes up, crooks may choose to fake Gucci handbags instead. This would still be theft, not to mention a crime against fashion. But it will not kill anyone.

Secure Pharma Chain endorses the concept of a multiple layered approach of deploying technologies to protect the global supply chain.

As this article points out the professional counterfeiter can fake nearly all overt methods of labeling or tracking the packaging which is why Secure Pharma Chain thinks that authentication, the actual testing of the material inside the container should be the centerpiece of a robust, layered approach to make certain that the medications are genuine.

Authentication technologies have advanced to the point that they can verify products inside their sealed container without destroying the packaging or degrading the contents.

Knowing what is inside the box is crucial in protecting consumers from this deadly criminal act.

To read the entire, excellent article, visit: http://www.economist.com/node/16943895?story_id=16943895&fsrc=scn/tw/te/rss/pe.

To learn more about authentication anti-counterfeiting technologies, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

SecuringPharma: Another Pharma Cargo Theft in Memphis

Shionogi suffers cargo theft on the heels of the large theft of Lupin products in Tennessee.

According to SecuringPharma.com, Shinogi a Japanese pharmaceutical company with a US division was hit by cargo thieves towards the end of May.

As reported by SecuringPharma.com:

· The theft was of two cases of its OraPred a prednisolone product stolen from a trailer parked at a truck stop in Memphis, Tennessee.

· The Pharmaceutical Cargo Security Consortium said the small amount of material stolen could mean the incident was a 'probe' – in which thieves take a small amount of material to identify what pharmaceuticals are being distributed in the area.

· PCSC also notes the incident could be linked to the theft of two pharmaceutical shipments in the Memphis area earlier in May.

This theft underscores the vulnerability of the pharmaceutical supply chain and undermines the confidence of consumers.

Secure Pharma Chain Blog, endorses the concept of all members of the supply using authentication technologies to verify their inventories and chain of custody.

To learn more about pharmaceutical supply chain solutions, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

To read the entire SecuringPharma.com article, visit: http://www.securingpharma.com/40/articles/499.php.

PSI Statistics on Pharmaceutical Counterfeits Cited on SafeMeds

The Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI), a pharmaceutical manufacturer organization that tracks and investigates counterfeit drugs globally, recently released updated survey finding statistics on SafeMedicines.org regarding drug counterfeiting.

According to the PSI data, drug counterfeiting has increased by 9.2 percent worldwide over the past year.

Other key survey findings include:

· Variety of Pharmaceutical Products Increasing: There were 808 types of counterfeit pharmaceutical products identified in 2009, up more than 36 percent from 2008.

· Geographical Locations More Diverse: Counterfeits were detected in 118 countries in 2008.

· Counterfeit Drugs Going Wholesale: In 531 incidents, counterfeit products reached licensed wholesale distributors and/or pharmacies in 48 different countries. 472 of the 978 counterfeit medicine seizures made by law enforcement were of "commercial" size.

To read the entire Safe Medicines.org posting, visit: http://www.safemedicines.org/2010/06/partnership-for-safe-medicines-psm-joins-with-irish-patients-association-to-combat-counterfeit-medicine-threat.html

The prevalence of this deadly criminal act continues to grow globally within developed and non-developed countries and impacting the health and well being of hundreds of millions of healthcare consumers.

Secure Pharma Chain Blog endorses global regulatory agencies and the members of the various pharmaceutical supply chains to deploy technologies to interdict nefarious product and to verify the authenticity of their inventories.

To learn more about anti-counterfeit pharmaceutical solutions, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

Bloomberg: Interpol Investigation Leads to Drug Seizures, Arrests in Asia

Bloomberg News has posted an online story reporting on a huge seizure of millions of counterfeit unit of sale packs of counterfeit medications. The operation coded named Operation Storm II was coordinated by Interpol and included counterfeit medications from the branded manufacturers Pfizer, Bristol-Meyers Squibb and Teva.

The entire Bloomberg News story appears below:

Police seized more than 20 million packs of counterfeit medicines, arrested at least 33 people and closed more than 100 illegal pharmacies in a series of raids in eight Southeast Asian nations coordinated by Interpol.

Counterfeit versions of Pfizer Inc.’s Viagra for erectile dysfunction, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s blood thinner Plavix and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s morning-after pill Plan B were among the products seized, Aline Plancon, an Interpol officer who coordinated the raids, said Jan. 26 in an e-mail from Jakarta. The haul also included fake aspirin, antibiotics, malaria treatments and hair-loss medicines, she said.

The seizures and arrests, part of an investigation called Operation Storm II, are the second round of raids in two years in Asia as international and local police crackdown on widening sales of fake medicines.

Asia is the world’s biggest producer of all counterfeit products, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in 2007 report. About 40 percent of 1,047 arrests related to fake drugs worldwide in 2008 were made in Asia, according to the Washington-based Pharmaceutical Security Institute.

In raids between July and November, police in Cambodia, China, Laos, Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam seized more than 12.2 million packs of fake drugs, Plancon said. An additional 8 million packs of medicines that had passed their expiry dates, were unregistered, or had been diverted from their intended destinations were also confiscated, she said.

Authorities from the eight countries involved plan to form a network to exchange information; coordinate enforcement and forensic investigations; and raise awareness in the region, Plancon said. Interpol is also creating a unit focused on fighting fake drugs, she said.
The new unit will help “dismantle the transnational criminals who threaten lives,” Plancon said. “This crime is a plague that needs to be addressed seriously and consistently in each and every country and region of the world.”

In 2008, police seized more than $6.7 million of counterfeit medicines and made 27 arrests in 200 raids across the region as part of Operation Storm I.

To read learn more about anti-counterfeiting technologies that protect the pharmaceutical supply chain, visit: www.xstreamsystems.net.

To read the entire Bloomberg post, follow this link: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aktGpE2o.ohM