Last week brought anticounterfeiting news both on the macro and the micro scale. First, at a three-day conference in Rome, the World Health Organization called for the creation of an anti drug counterfeiting task force.
People dont die from carrying a fake handbag or wearing a fake T-shirt. They can die from taking a counterfeit medicine, said Howard Zucker, Assistant Director General for Health Technology and Pharmaceuticals at WHO. International police action against the factories and distribution networks should be as uncompromising as that applied to the pursuit of narcotic smuggling. Read more about it.
Meanwhile, on the "micro" scale, in Florida, two members of a drug counterfeiting ring were convicted of conspiring to relabel and distribute fake Lipitor and other drugs. The Florida-based "cog" in this $13-million operation faces five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Read the AP news wire report here.
