On the heels of major arrests for drug counterfeiting in China, Canada, and the United States, the Center for Medicines in the Public Interest recently released 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 Mr. Pitts. "By 2010, that number will nearly double. We must enact controls to strengthen the security of our health care system from outside threats."