Drug goods are frequently counterfeited, and the results are well known to have harmed public health systems around the world, as they are often inefficient, promote drug resistance, and cause severe disease and even death. To authenticate original medicine, drug manufacturing necessitates a large amount of working capital and well-trained personnel. Cutting costs saves money, but it puts customers in danger.
Counterfeiting impacts finished medication products (both branded and generic) and medical diagnostics and pharmaceutical components (API, excipients, and auxiliary compounds) used in pharmaceutical formulation.
In this blog, we will discuss active participants in the fake drug business in this piece and discuss the implications of drug product faking.
The Fake Drug Industry’s Key Players
Drugmakers
Local or foreign producers who make fake medications or drugs that are forbidden, unauthorised, and not allowed by law to be manufactured or marketed in the place of origin or exported to another country are included in this category.
Importers, wholesalers, and retailers of pharmaceuticals
Medications from China and India account for a more significant percentage of the drugs used in most developing countries. Some importers collaborate with manufacturers to make and import counterfeit or inferior pharmaceuticals at a lower cost. These pharmaceuticals are subsequently supplied to wholesalers and retailers, who may or may not know that the drugs are phoney.
Terrorist organizations and criminals
Terrorist organisations make, distribute, and sell counterfeit drugs to fund their illegal and unrelated activities worldwide. They’re notorious for looking for the weakest link among municipal governments. Illegal syndicates and terrorists move on to reveal the weaknesses in the following region as capacity grows in the first. Criminal manufacturers can often swiftly re-establish operations in other jurisdictions when one unlawful facility is shut down. The network of illegal activities extends due to weak borders, a lack of or inadequate control, and chances to expand through internet-based transactions.
Drug dealers who work on the side
Individuals with limited drug knowledge who distribute drugs in an uncontrolled manner and without seeking professional advice. Even though they are aware of the hazards of selling these fake drug goods, their goal is usually to make a double profit. They also store and handle medications in unsuitable circumstances, putting the drug’s potency at risk.
Patients/Consumers
Consumers prefer to patronise informal drug sellers for a variety of reasons, including geographic accessibility, lower prices and flexible pricing policies, proximity, flexible payment methods, perception of confidentiality, high stockout rate at health facilities, shorter waiting times, longer opening hours, greater confidentiality, more personable social interaction, ease of seeking advice, no separate fee charged for advice, and so on. These factors raise their likelihood of obtaining counterfeit pharmaceuticals, exposing them to the risks of using fake drugs. It is essential to take necessary drug anti counterfeiting actions in order to protect consumers from the adverse effects of counterfeit medicines.
Fake Drugs’ Consequences
Fake/counterfeit drugs, whether sold on the street, in markets, or on unregulated websites, have profound implications, including:
Ineffectiveness of treatment
The use of counterfeit drugs in the management and treatment of disease conditions poses a risk to individual patients and public health because they are rarely effective and can lead to increased resistance to existing antimicrobial agents, drug resistance spread, and treatment failures in diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis. When phoney pharmaceuticals include completely erroneous active ingredients that are hazardous to the patient, they can finally result in death.
Threat to Security
Due to the availability of sophisticated technology, the growing size of the counterfeiting ring, and the widening involvement of organised crime groups looking for means to fund their nefarious activities worldwide, illegal drug activities, including manufacture, importation, and trade, have grown to the ugly dimension of affecting national and international security.
Economic ramifications
Fake pharmaceuticals have had a significant impact on consumers, legal importers, manufacturers, and the authorities.
The financial impact of counterfeit pharmaceuticals on the consumer/patient
Aside from the adverse side effects of fake pharmaceuticals, a patient would almost certainly spend more money if they were treated with them. Because of the patient’s poor therapeutic response, the doctor may decide to repeat the treatment or order additional laboratory testing.
Individuals with limited drug knowledge who distribute drugs in an uncontrolled manner and without seeking professional advice. Even though they are aware of the hazards of selling these fake drug goods, their goal is usually to make a double profit. They also store and handle medications in unsuitable circumstances, putting the drug’s potency at risk.
