Ethiopia: Counterfeit Drugs Seen As a Growing Problem

Counterfeit goods threaten security, economic growth and public safety worldwide, U.S. and private industry officials warn. Of increasing concern, they say, is the flood of counterfeit medicines into the marketplace. Trade in counterfeit and fake goods, officially referred to as intellectual property piracy, "negatively impacts our society through the loss of profits, jobs, revenue and…

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Fake drugs racket busted, one held

A fake medicine racket has been busted in Howrah, with the arrest of the 48-year-old kingpin, Mahesh Kumar Rathi, and seizure of fake medicines worth around Rs 7 lakh. Rathi was picked up on Wednesday night following raids on his house at 197 Ramkrishnapur Lane and two drug outlets, on GT Road (in Shibpur) and…

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Fake Drugs Create a Bitter Pill for Patients Overseas

In February 2005, a 23-year-old Burmese man checked into a rural hospital in East Burma with a fairly ordinary case of malaria. The hospital gave him the usual treatment — artesunate pills, a medicine heralded as a miracle cure for its speed in treating the disease. Three days later, he slipped into a coma. Within…

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Fake Viagras abound, NBI warns

The National Bureau of Investigation yesterday warned the public on the proliferation of counterfeit medicines in the local market following the seizure of fake Viagra and Norvasc from several drugstores in Metro Manila, Southern Luzon and Northern Luzon in separate operations. Viagra and Norvasc are both Pfizer prescription drugs. NBI Intellectual Property Rights Division Chief…

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Theriault J. Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals: Understanding the Threat. J Biolaw Bus. 2006;9(4): 46-50.

The manufacture and distribution of counterfeit medicines is big business. Counterfeits threaten the health and safety of patients around the world, who depend upon authentic medicines prescribed by their doctors to save or improve the quality of their lives. The sale of counterfeit medicines not only funds criminal enterprises and terrorist organizations, but also undermines…

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Kubic TT,* Mollo SJ. Pharmaceutical Counterfeiting Trends: Understanding The Extent of Criminal Activity. J Biolaw Bus. 2006;9(4):51-56.

Pharmaceutical crime is a tremendously challenging and growing facet of international trade. In an effort to understand the scope and nature of the problem, cooperative strategies through the Pharmaceutical Security Institute have been instituted. PSI utilizes a broad range of skills and approaches to detect and provide information on this critical issue for public and…

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Eban K. Dangerous Doses. J Biolaw Bus. 2006;9(4):57-60.

For years, the nation's medicine has moved through a thriving gray market of middlemen, who buy and sell medicine to one another. These middlemen often resort to fraud in order to obtain medicine for resale more cheaply through drug diversion. Soaring prices, weak laws and numerous opportunities for arbitrage have attracted narcotics traffickers and organized…

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Schulte G. An Overview of Pharmaceutical Smuggling Cases in San Diego: It Goes Better When Agencies Work Together. J Biolaw Bus. 2006;9(4):41-45.

The U.S. Customs Service and its successor agency U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is now located within the Department of Homeland Security, have conducted investigations into the illegal importation of unapproved and counterfeit pharmaceuticals for decades. Other federal and state agencies have conducted similar investigations. Advances in technology have created an increasingly favorable…

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Liang BA.* Crime, Terrorism, and Counterfeit Drugs: Addressing the International Regime. J Biolaw Bus. 2006;9(4): 36-40.

Producing counterfeit drugs is a lucrative, low risk, high return business. Organized criminal elements and terrorist organizations are exploiting this reality across borders to fund their activities. An interdisciplinary, multi-focal strategy to raise awareness of the issue, establish stakeholder reporting systems, reform penalties to fit the crime, and invest in technology must be engaged to…

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