Growing popularity of counterfeit drugs a cause of concern

The production and sale of counterfeit drugs in rich and poor countries is a cause of great concerns, as per experts. The risk is higher than ever since more and more unwary consumers are buying these drugs over the Internet.

Manufacturers of counterfeit drugs put people at risk of harm from products that could include too little, too much, or the wrong active ingredient and/or contain toxic ingredients, according to Margaret Hamburg, head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

From in.reuters.com:

"Counterfeiting is growing in complexity, scale and geographic scope," she said in a speech to the annual ministerial meeting of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In wealthy countries, counterfeiting often involves "expensive hormones, steroids and anti-cancer medicines and pharmaceuticals related to lifestyle," a WHO report said.

But in developing countries, especially Africa, counterfeit medicines are commonly available to treat life-threatening conditions such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, it said.

Nigeria, referring to a case involving tainted teething syrup in Feb. 2009, said the consequences were often deadly.

"Only last year we lost 84 children in Nigeria due to fraudulent practices in some countries. It is lives we are talking about," Nigeria's delegate told the talks.

Research and development-based pharmaceutical companies have said that counterfeit medicines pose a danger to patients and they are not driven by commercial interest in fighting the scourge.