Beware of Counterfeits

Image: Drugs in hairlines

Many countries are rightly proud of the safety and quality of their supply of pharmaceuticals. In some developing countries, however, the situation is unfortunately very different. In 1990, more than 100 Nigerian children died because they had been given cough syrup that was diluted with toxic solvent. Five years later, 2500 people lost their lives when a supposed meningitis vaccine turned out to be water. This list could be continued. The reason for these catastrophic events: In developing countries, estimates the World Health Organisation (WHO), up to 30 per cent of all sold drugs are counterfeited.

In developed countries less than one per cent of drugs are affected by counterfeits, according to the WHO. However: illegitimate internet pharmacies ship their illegal products worldwide. Here, the ratio of counterfeited drugs is over 60 per cent. These drugs can harm the health and even the lives of patients. This means that if patients purchase drugs online they increasingly run the risk of coming across counterfeits. Only educated consumers can avoid these risks.

Our commitment

Counterfeited drugs pose a grave threat because their origin and contents are unknown. It is for this reason that we are committed to protecting patients. Our goal is to afford patients the best possible treatment for their disease. Bayer Schering Pharma is a division of Bayer HealthCare. Bayer HealthCare has more than 50.000 employees worldwide and spends billions on research every year. But the producers of counterfeited drugs don’t care about the implications of their actions. They put their personal profit before the wellbeing of the affected patients. At the same time, counterfeits threaten the good reputation of our company and our products.

To bring awareness of the issue to a greater public, Bayer HealthCare has started the campaign “Beware of Counterfeits”. At the same time, we are carrying out safety measures on our products, we are employing internal and external investigators and using judicial prosecution to combat the issue.

International cooperation against counterfeiting

Many countries either do not have appropriate laws or are not applying them with sufficient stringency. Internationally networked counterfeiters exploit this situation and benefit from it. At the same time criminal prosecution of the culprits must be improved.

Success in this field requires joint efforts by the industry and its associations, as well as by state and supranational organizations. This is why Bayer HealthCare cooperates with the responsible authorities worldwide and actively supports, for example, the anti-counterfeiting activities the WHO's International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). Bayer HealthCare is also a member of the Pharmaceutical Security Institute, the German Action Group Against Product and Brand Piracy as well as founding member of the European Alliance for Access to Safe Medicines (EAASM). This association was founded in 2007 and aims to raise awareness of deficient laws in the field. It also advocates a more effective protection of patients in Europe.

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Frequently asked questions

Why does drug counterfeiting exist?

The counterfeiting of drugs is extraordinarily lucrative for criminal organisations. In countries with little risk of effective punishment the production and dissemination of counterfeit drugs is even more profitable than the trafficking of narcoleptic drugs. The counterfeiters try to emulate the look of the product as closely as possible to exploit the good reputation of the original manufacturer. But for them the content of the product and its effect on the patient’s health is secondary.

Which drugs are being counterfeited?

Counterfeits are made of both patented drugs and so-called generic products. Antibiotics and so-called lifestyle products like e.g. impotence drugs constitute the biggest part of counterfeits. However, these criminal organisations do not shy away from counterfeiting prescription drugs for serious diseases like AIDS or cancer. Most of the counterfeited products are made in China and India.

What makes a counterfeit?

The WHO defines counterfeits as drugs that have been purposefully labelled with incorrect information pertaining to their identity and/or origin. This comprises drugs that

contain the right active substance in a dosage that is either too high or too low
whose expiration date has been manipulated
that do not contain an active substance
that contain an active substance different from the one stated on the label
that have counterfeited packaging, blisters and/or instruction leaflet

Why are counterfeited drugs so dangerous?

Counterfeited drugs can contain toxic substances or contaminations that harm the patient. No one can guarantee their origin or contents. Even when the counterfeit does contain certain active substances, a lower quality or quantity can lead to the failure of a subsequent vaccination or a resistance to the actual active substance.

How can I protect myself against counterfeits?

On principle it is dangerous to procure drugs from private sources to e.g. circumvent the need for a prescription from a medical doctor. The same goes for purchasing drugs in countries with low state control. Even experts often have difficulty telling apart the real drug from the counterfeited product at first sight. The main source for counterfeits, e.g. in Germany, is the internet. Online drugs should only be bought from trustworthy internet pharmacies. Patients can obtain information on legitimate internet providers from their health insurance companies.

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