European Commission names counterfeiting hotspots

The European Commission has highlighted countries with particularly significant counterfeiting and piracy of medicinal products.

Following 290 replies from businesses, trade associations and diplomatic missions, covering 63 countries, its survey report named Egypt as a real problem zone, criticising the December 2004 approval of 850 local copies of pharmaceuticals without generic companies having to prove the efficiency and safety of the copy.. Most ingredients came from India, where the survey points out there are 20,000 producers, only 4,000 of whom are registered, fuelling an estimated counterfeit pharmaceutical market worth US$1bn annually, often involving genuine packaging.

The survey also notes concerns about Mexico being a centre for the counterfeiting of fake medicine packaging and leaflets, particularly in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey, along with the northern frontier zone with the United States. Other pharmaceutical piracy hotspots identified included Guatemala, Israel, the Lebanon, Brazil, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Turkey.

*Survey results - http://ec.europa.eu/trade/issues/sectoral/intell_property/survey2006_en.htm