Fake pharmaceuticals form the largest segment of the global counterfeit industry – reaching an estimated USD 200 Billion out of the USD 1.8 Trillion (in value) of counterfeit goods sold every year. The menace is growing rapidly.
An International Problem
Fake medicines have spread across borders, even in countries with high regulatory standards. In Germany, for example, authorities confiscated 4 million counterfeit tablets in 2015. In regions like Africa, fake medications make up as much as 70% of the pharmaceutical market.
From Lifestyle to Lifesaving Medications
Counterfeit medications have become increasingly dangerous as they transition from lifestyle drugs to life-saving treatments. Over 50% of counterfeit medications today are aimed at treating life-threatening illnesses such as HIV, Malaria, Tuberculosis, and Cancer. The human toll is staggering—over 450,000 preventable deaths from Malaria each year are due to fake medicines.
Harmful and Ineffective
Counterfeit medications harm consumers in two critical ways: they either lack the ingredients needed for effectiveness or contain harmful chemicals and additives. For instance, fake drugs have been found to contain rat poison or floor wax.
Bad Medications are now a Health Problem
The impact of fake medications is creating another health crisis. A survey in the UK found that 1 in 4 physicians had treated patients suffering adverse effects from harmful medications purchased online.
Classifications
Within the definition of counterfeit medication, there are three broad classifications – Substandard, Unregistered/Unlicensed and Falsified. Substandard medications don’t meet the quality specifications or standards in place for those medications. Unregistered medications have not even undergone evaluation by the approved bodies for the market in which they are distributed. Falsified medications deliberately misrepresent the identity, composition or source. In some cases, the medicines maybe genuine but have been stolen, and then are wrongly stored or expired – This can cause them to be ineffective and contaminated.
Impact During COVID
The COVID pandemic has seen a surge in counterfeit drugs and medical products. Europol seized 4 million counterfeit drug packages and 34,000 fake surgical masks. INTERPOL countries inspected 326,000 packages in one week in 2020, seizing 48,000. Counterfeiters have sought to introduce medications into the market before legitimate manufacturers could supply them to consumers.
Understanding and Beating Counterfeiters
Counterfeiters succeed by packaging fake products to closely resemble genuine medications. Our patented technology provides a solution: consumers can verify their products in seconds using a mobile phone to scan the packaging. To know more, visit: https://ennoventure.com/use-case/
