Counterfeit Drug Sales to Reach $75 Billion in 2010, Says Report

PharmaManufacturing.com
09/16/2005

Conference & Webcast CMPI is sponsoring a September 20 conference in Washington, D.C., to address the problem of international drug counterfeiting. The conference will be held at the Grand Hyatt on Capitol Hill, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. EDT. For more information on "21st Century Healthcare Terrorism: The Perils of International Drug Counterfeiting," visit www.politicalcap.com/pri. Also on September 20, starting at 8 a.m. EDT, will be a webcast on "The Perils of International Drug Counterfeiting." To register for the webcast, click here.

On the heels of major arrests for drug counterfeiting in China, Canada, and the United States, the Center for Medicines in the Public Interest (CMPI) announced that at a September 20 conference (see sidebar at right) it will release a new report projecting counterfeit drug sales to reach $75 billion in 2010, a shocking 92% increase from 2005.

"The business of selling fake prescription drugs to unsuspecting consumers is burgeoning, and is a global industry," said Peter Pitts, senior fellow for health care studies at the Pacific Research Institute and Director of the Center for Medicines in the Public Interest. "This underground industry represents a major public health risk for citizens of the world."

Pitts' new report estimates counterfeit drug sales will grow 13% annually through 2010, compared to just 7.5% estimated annual growth for global pharmaceutical commerce. Many of the products sold via drug traffickers contain ingredients that could be harmful, and these products are coming from illegal operations with very poor controls. Many of these operations use phony, fly-by-night web sites.

"The increasing flow of counterfeit drugs represents a significant public health threat," said Dr. Scott Gottlieb, Deputy Commissioner for Medical and Scientific Affairs at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. We must step up our efforts to safeguard the drug supply — we certainly should not weaken those controls."

The American debate about health care affordability and access is directly linked to international prescription drug counterfeiting. Not only are counterfeit drugs extremely dangerous and many times lethal, but also they are a potential source of funding in the murky world of crime and terror.

"Nearly $39 billion, or 11% of global pharmaceutical commerce, will be counterfeit this year," added Pitts. "By 2010, that number will nearly double. We must enact controls to strengthen the security of our health care system from outside threats." To download a white paper written by Pitts and included in the September 2005 FDA Enforcement Manual, click here.

CMPI's September 20 conference will step up the debate about the threat of drug counterfeiting. A gathering of experts on illegal pharmaceutical regulation, security, and trade will discuss the global threat of illegal, cross-border drug trafficking.

CMPI is a clearinghouse for information on the development, accessibility, and safety of pharmaceuticals. Its "policy council," comprised of leading experts from around the world, presents rigorous analysis of the most critical issues affecting drug policy today. Issues include drug importation, counterfeiting, direct-to-consumer marketing, and the policies of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The centerpiece of the CMPI is a drug policy web log, www.drugwonks.com.

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