Counterfeit Drugs Infiltrating Biotech

Ever considered buying your prescription drugs at a discount from an online source? Think again. According to the US FDA, Wall Street Journal and WHO, many of those drugs available through discount sources, particularly online, could be not only fake, but downright dangerous to your health. Estimates are that anywhere from 10% to 50% of pharmaceutical knockoffs could be fake, particularly those sold in Eastern Europe, Asia or Africa. This means they might contain far lower concentrations of active ingredient than the brand name product, none at all, the wrong active ingredient, or even toxic mixtures of unknown substances.

Well known companies like Amgen, Ortho Biotech, Genentech and Merck have had their products "copied" by counterfeiters. Obviously the economic impact of fake drugs is a concern to phamaceutical companies who lose the return on their investment and valuable funds for new R&D projects. The human losses, however, are even greater for anyone who takes a counterfeit thinking they are treating their illness and ends up more sick than before.

Companies can protect their IP through patents, copyrights and trademarks. Patent laws should protect companies and their unique products, but there are loopholes, one of which being that no one can sell an exact or close copy of an invention. Some counterfeits are so far from the real thing, their distributors can't be prosecuted. Copyrights and patents are registered country by country and are hard to enforce due to the registration process and enforcement proceedures. A strong trademark is said to be a solid way to protect your IP, because fakes are easily spotted and, in many countries, immediately seized upon the start of prosecution.

_Source:

Konski, A. 2008. IP Strategies to Combat Distribution of Counterfeit Drugs. BioProcess International 6(3):14-19.