77 million Europeans fuelling counterfeits market
pharmafile | February 19, 2010 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Europe, Pfizer, counterfeits
A new survey commissioned by Pfizer shows that Europeans are fuelling a counterfeit medicines market worth €10.5 billion.
The findings are contained in a report ‘Cracking Counterfeit Europe’ with researched conducted by the Red Consultancy.
14,000 people took part in the survey across 14 European countries with 21% (one in five) admitting to buying prescription-only medicines from illicit sources.
The accessibility, speed and potential for anonymity of the internet means it is primary means for people to buy the medicines. Recent statistics estimate that between 50 – 90% of medicines purchases from online resources are fake.
A number of these medicines have been found with harmful ingredients ranging from rat poison and boric acid to lead paint. Equally as dangerous, some illicit medicines contain incorrect doses of active ingredients, raising the potential for overdose or simply giving no protection at all.
Meanwhile the number of counterfeit medicines uncovered at EU borders has increased from just over half a million items in 2005 to over four million in 2007. This represents a seven-fold increase over two years.
Dr David Gillen, Pfizer’s Medical Director says: “People across Europe are risking their health and contributing to the criminal economy by accessing medicines from outside legitimate healthcare systems.”
Nearly a quarter (23%) of those surveyed didn’t acknowledge that taking prescription only medicines without a prescription is a risky activity. Yet the majority (71%) of people said if they thought the medicines could be fake, this would impact the likelihood of them purchasing.
Gillen concludes: “This points to a clear need for greater public awareness and education. People are not only unaware of the very real dangers of counterfeit medicines, but also that they’re fuelling an illegal and harmful criminal market.”
Pfizer has a dedicated Counterfeit Lab in Sandwich to investigate, monitor and prevent counterfeit medicines. In 2008 Pfizer commissioned a ‘Cracking Counterfeit UK’ report that estimated men were more likely than women to fuel the medicine black market. Pfizer has also commissioned comms agency Langland to create the Real Danger consumer campaign warning the public against counterfeit medicine.
Related Content
NICE recommends Pfizer’s new once-weekly treatment for haemophilia B on NHS
Walton Oaks, 21st May 2025 – Pfizer Ltd announced today that the National Institute for Health and Care …
Pfizer releases results for severe RSV-associated LRTD treatment study
US-based Pfizer have announced results from its substudy B of the ongoing phase 3 clinical …
New Real-World Data Published in Journal of Cardiac Failure on Effectiveness
Patients treated with tafamidis were associated with greater rates of survival compared with patients untreated …
