[e-drug] WHO-led anti-counterfeiting coalition (2)

E-DRUG: WHO-led anti-counterfeiting coalition (2)
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Dear E-druggers,

It would be wonderful if we could solve the World's problems with
technology. BUKO wants to give e-druggers some food for thought even if this
does not make it easy to "work together in harmony" (quote WHO).

We are concerned that the problem of counterfeits is not approached in the most suitable way by IMPACT. We have published a PHARMA-BRIEF SPECIAL (1/2007) on the issue. Here are a few of our doubts:

* The strong industry influence on IMPACT made the Rome declaration very
narrow and excluded the borader context of prices, equitable access and so
on.

* High figures of counterfeits are quoted without having reliable sources. A
closer look at the data makes us think that fakes and substandard products
are often muddled up.

* High tech solutions are not feasible for many developing countries
(RFID-labels are not cheap, technology, training and internet access are
needed)

* Industry keeps most data on counterfeits secret, that makes a good
analysis of the problems difficult

To read more

http://www.bukopharma.de/Service/Archiv/E2007_01_special.pdf [PDF 760 kB]

PHARMA-BRIEF SPECIAL 1/2007
List of contents:

Introduction............... 2
A complex problem

Company survey ............ 5
A lot of secrecy

The role of industry....... 7
Marketing or concerns?

Data on fake drugs........ 10
What is known?

IMPACT.................... 11
Quo vadis?

Jorg Schaaber
BUKO Pharma-Kampagne
August-Bebel-Str. 62
33602 Bielefeld
Germany
Fax +49-(0)521-63789
info@bukopharma.de
www.bukopharma.de/english

E-DRUG: WHO-led anti-counterfeiting coalition (3)
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I agree that everyone should be much more precise in their language and statistics in this area. I've written a short article on this issue: http://ssrn.com/abstract=926985.

News media reports about non-brand name drugs often conflate several distinct categories. Generic drugs are frequently called "knockoffs," which sounds like illegal copies in other industries. Fully efficacious drugs produced under TRIPS-compliant compulsory licenses are falsely claimed to have been produced by "breaking the patent" or "violating IP law."

In its press releases, the US FDA conflates parallel-traded legitimate product with outright counterfeits containing no active ingredients, using overly inclusive terms like "fake drugs." Each of these categories have distinct causes and effect; for some, the public health impact is very positive. It is improper and misleading to treat them all similarly.

Kevin Outterson

Professor of Law
West Virginia University
304 293 8282 kevin.outterson@mail.wvu.edu
SSRN Author Page: ssrn.com/author=340746
"Kevin Outterson" <Kevin.Outterson@mail.wvu.edu>