The FINANCIAL -- NEW
YORK -- Pfizer Inc. and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy®
(NABP) are launching a new effort to draw attention to the risks
associated with counterfeit prescription medicines and help patients
learn how to safely buy medicines online.
Prescription medicines are among the most counterfeited consumer goods. Worldwide sales of counterfeit medicines were estimated to exceed $75 billion last year – an increase of 90 percent since 2005. Last year, one in six Americans purchased medicines on the Internet, potentially exposing them to harmful counterfeits.
Exposure to counterfeit medicines can have serious consequences, either because they include dangerous substances such as rat poison and lead paint or because they do not include the correct, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved amount of active pharmaceutical ingredient, which means patients may not get the intended therapeutic benefit.
“Authentic prescription medicines are manufactured with pure ingredients in clean facilities, under a highly-regulated, quality-controlled process, but counterfeit medicines are often produced in unsanitary conditions by people without any medical or scientific background,” said Patrick Ford, senior director global security, Americas region, Pfizer. “Law-enforcement officials have found fake medicines being made in bathrooms and outdoors in the vicinity of farm animals.”
In 2010, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection seized 170 percent more illegal pharmaceutical products ($5.6 million) than in 2005 ($2.1 million). Despite diligent work by U.S. law enforcement, it is unknown how many more millions of dollars of counterfeit medicines are circulating online. A recent review by NABP of more than 8,000 websites selling prescription medicines found that 96 percent appeared to be operating in conflict with pharmacy laws and practice standards, putting patients at risk of receiving counterfeit or adulterated medicines.
“Counterfeiters who sell fake medicines online prey on ingrained online buying behavior, in which consumers disregard warning signs, and prioritize price and convenience,” said Carmen Catizone, M.S., R.Ph., D.Ph., executive director, NABP. “As a result, counterfeiters sell fake medicines through deceptive practices and typically don’t insist that patients provide a valid prescription, which is required by law.”
Adding to the danger, patients who buy medicines from illegitimate online pharmacies are at risk of financial fraud and identity theft when they share their credit card and other personal information with criminal counterfeiting networks.
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