What Are Counterfeit Medicines?
--NAMI-E News - Jan/02

Counterfeit medicines are prescription medicines that are not purchased directly from the manufacturer or legitimate distributors. Counterfeit medicines come in many varieties, making it difficult for even trained experts to tell the difference.

Counterfeit bulk ingredients may originate in one country; pass through a second country where customs forms may be altered, and then on to a third country where the product is sold. Unauthorized copies (mis-described as "generics" by some) are illegal replications of either patented or generic medicines. Product diversion, another form of counterfeiting, occurs when opportunists buy medicines at low prices and turn around and sell the same medicines in another country at a higher cost and at a profit.

Counterfeit, or illegal, labeling of a product happens when an entity purchases a medicine direct from a manufacturer, illegally re-labels the product for sale or illegally puts a trade-marked brand name on a generic compound, in order to get a higher price.

• To return to Newsletter use menu below or the back arrow •