SecuringPharma: Survey Results Suggest Drug Counterfeiting is on the Rise

A survey of 1,000 specialists in pharmaceutical anti-counterfeiting measures surveyed have suggested that faking of medicines will become increasingly severe in the coming years, and that drugmakers will invest more in defensive measures.

SecuringPharma, in a December 24th post, reports on a survey that was created as a part of the pre-conference research for IQPC's Pharmaceutical Anti-Counterfeiting conference to be held in Amsterdam on February 15th-17th.

According to the SecuringPharma post:

• Almost two third of those polled in the survey (61.5 per cent) expected the threat of counterfeiting to increase in 2011, while more than half (53.8 per cent) said they were planning to increase their budget for investment in anti-counterfeiting area.

• With regard to the anti-counterfeiting technology they were using, just 53 per cent indicated they were satisfied with it and 23 per cent said they were not content with their current protection.

• A vast majority (84 per cent) said that they were looking to invest in new anti-counterfeiting measures, according to Pharma IQ, a division of conference organiser IQPC which carried out the poll.

• Emerging markets in Asia - and especially China - were perceived as the major source of the anti-counterfeit drugs by half of the respondents.

• 21 per cent cited the Internet as the major threat for the pharmaceutical market in the context of counterfeiting, with around the same proportion identifying organised crime as their top concern.

• On a positive note, while the results indicated that the perceived threat of counterfeit medicines was significant, most of those polled (84.6 per cent) said they believed it is possible to win the war with pharmaceutical counterfeiters.

The results of the survey are in line with all of the most recent media reports and statistics that are emerging at the close of 2010. The criminal enterprise of drug counterfeiting is on the rise and the threat to supply chains and populations around the world is very real.

Of comfort is the increased realization and reaction by governments, industry and consumers of this threat. In the past most members of the supply chain were looking for government mandates before moving to protect their inventories. Based on this survey it would appear that they are now in a more proactive mindset.

Ultimately it is incumbent on the supply chain members and the consumer to be vigilant in protecting themselves from this threat.

To read the entire SecuringPharma post, visit: http://www.securingpharma.com/40/articles/815.php

To learn more about the IQPC Pharmaceutical Anti-Counterfeiting Conference, visit: http://www.pharmaceuticalanticounterfeiting.com/Event.aspx?id=405182

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

2010 Pain in the (Supply) Chain Survey

As the Secure Pharma Chain team takes a breather during the Labor Day Holiday, the following is a re-post of a blog from June regarding UPS' study on supply chain issues.

Findings show the industry’s greatest pain points and reveal companies’ plans for the year ahead and beyond. Product Security continues its rise in significance to industry leadership.

UPS, a leading provider of healthcare logistics and transportation services, launched its third annual “Pain in the (Supply) Chain” survey. The survey taken by healthcare supply chain executives, measures concerns about business and supply chain issues in the wake of healthcare reform and other industry changes.

The Survey was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of UPS and consisted of blind, in-depth telephone interviews with senior-level decision makers at nearly 150 pharmaceutical, biotech and medical/surgical device companies. All of the survey respondents were responsible for supply chain and logistics at their company.

The “Pain” study is an excellent resource as it relates to the most relevant trends and thoughts of the healthcare industry leadership.

The survey key findings are organized by nine key trend areas including Product Security concerns.

Regarding Product Security, the 2010 survey found the following:

• In the nine key trend areas, Product Security is tied with Access to Global or Emerging Markets.

• Product Security ranks as the third largest supply chain issue following Managing Costs and Regulatory Compliance.

• Product Security ranks as the second largest barrier to global expansion.

• 40% of industry respondents are highly concerned about product security, specifically their concerns are:

o 69% cite attempts to counterfeit products

o 60% name product theft as a top challenge

o 53% worry about product diversion

o 50% name theft in transit as a key challenge

The survey confirms the trend that industry leadership is beginning to understand the relevance of the criminal acts, namely theft, fraud, adulteration and counterfeiting impacting product security within the various healthcare supply chains.

Secure Pharma Chain Blog encourages both industry leadership and regulatory agencies to deploy advanced technologies and solutions to combat the various product security challenges cited in the survey.

To view the UPS survey, visit: http://www.ups.com/.

2010 Pain in the (Supply) Chain Survey: Product Security Continues to Be a Major Concern

Findings show the industry’s greatest pain points and reveal companies’ plans for the year ahead and beyond.

UPS, a leading provider of healthcare logistics and transportation services, launched its third annual “Pain in the (Supply) Chain” survey. The survey taken by healthcare supply chain executives, measures concerns about business and supply chain issues in the wake of healthcare reform and other industry changes.

The Survey was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of UPS and consisted of blind, in-depth telephone interviews with senior-level decision makers at nearly 150 pharmaceutical, biotech and medical/surgical device companies. All of the survey respondents were responsible for supply chain and logistics at their company.

The “Pain” study is an excellent resource as it relates to the most relevant trends and thoughts of the healthcare industry leadership.

The survey key findings are organized by nine key trend areas including Product Security concerns.

Regarding Product Security, the 2010 survey found the following:

• In the nine key trend areas, Product Security is tied with Access to Global or Emerging Markets.

• Product Security ranks as the third largest supply chain issue following Managing Costs and Regulatory Compliance.

• Product Security ranks as the second largest barrier to global expansion.

• 40% of industry respondents are highly concerned about product security, specifically their concerns are:

o 69% cite attempts to counterfeit products
o 60% name product theft as a top challenge
o 53% worry about product diversion
o 50% name theft in transit as a key challenge

The survey confirms the trend that industry leadership is beginning to understand the relevance of the criminal acts, namely theft, fraud, adulteration and counterfeiting impacting product security within the various healthcare supply chains.

Secure Pharma Chain Blog encourages both industry leadership and regulatory agencies to deploy advanced technologies and solutions to combat the various product security challenges cited in the survey.

To view the UPS survey, visit: http://www.ups.com/.

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