Criminals cashing in on fake swine flu medicines
European medicine authorities are growing increasingly alarmed by the number of bogus swine flu remedies being sold over the Internet. The news comes as MEPs gear up to debate new rules covering counterfeit medicines.
The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) is warning that criminal gangs are trying to cash in on the H1N1 flu pandemic by selling fake or low-quality antiviral medicines and vaccines online. Some fake drugs contain no active ingredients while others are laced with sugar, rat poison and other medicines, according to industry sources.
The temptation to buy illegal medicines over the Internet has been heightened by concerns that not all European governments have stockpiled enough medicines to treat the entire population. It was reported earlier this year that Tamiflu has overtaken Viagra as the drug most commonly advertised in spam emails – spawning the term 'Spamiflu'.
A pandemic of online scams
In the US, the medicines regulator has issued a public warning against falling prey to online scam artists selling swine flu cures such as sterilisers and unlicensed pills claiming to boost the immune system.
The FDA bought and tested five products claiming to be Tamiflu but none were authentic.
Consumers are also being warned against forking out for expensive cleaning products and antibacterial sprays which claim to kill flu viruses, with experts and industry groups saying ordinary soap is just as effective.
Industry fighting rearguard action against fakes
As MEPs prepare to legislate against counterfeit medicines, Europe's pharmaceutical industry has launched its favoured solution to verify whether pharmacists are selling authentic products. However, pharmacists and wholesalers have previously expressed concern that any system for verifying medicines should not add disproportionately to their cost base or workload.
Around 1% of medicines sold in Europe are estimated to be counterfeit and some of these find their way into the legitimate distribution chain. EFPIA, the umbrella group for research-based pharmaceutical firms, last week unveiled a new 2-D barcode system.