PhRMA Highlights Concerns about Counterfeit Threats
In Testimony Before House Subcommittee on Health

Washington, D.C. (September 26, 2007) — Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Deputy Vice President for Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Alan Goldhammer, PhD, today testified (read his testimony) before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health regarding prescription drug counterfeiting and patient safety.

“The integrity of America’s prescription drug supply system was strengthened when the Prescription Drug Marketing Act was passed by Congress 20 years ago,” Dr. Goldhammer stressed at the hearing. “The passage of this legislation established the closed distribution system we have today. Most importantly, it has helped protect American patients from the very dangerous counterfeit threat that patients around the world are experiencing firsthand.”

The growing worldwide counterfeit epidemic has been highlighted in numerous high profile press reports in the U.S. and overseas. In fact, a recent report exposed a massive global counterfeit drug ring operating in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and stretching to other countries such as China, India and Pakistan. The police reportedly discovered millions of dollars worth of fake medicines that were filtered in and out of the U.K. through licensed wholesalers and Internet sites based in the U.K. and other countries abroad.

Dr. Goldhammer continued, “America’s pharmaceutical research companies and the Food and Drug Administration together play a critical role in maintaining this secure drug supply system to help ensure the safety of American patients is not compromised. While we believe the U.S. drug distribution system is the safest in the world, further steps can be taken to help arm us in the fight against the worldwide counterfeit epidemic. Such steps include increasing regulatory requirements for prescription drug repackagers as well as wholesalers and distributors.”

The Center for Medicines in the Public Interest also recently estimated that counterfeit drug sales will reach $75 billion globally in 2010, an increase of more than 90 percent from 2005. In addition, a study by MarkMonitor suggests that a disturbing rate of fraudulent Internet drug sellers are popping up and potentially selling counterfeit medicines to consumers. According to the study, only a tiny fraction of the online businesses possessed the certifications they claimed.

“Today, street drug dealers face more jail time than counterfeiting criminals. This is why PhRMA supports increasing the maximum criminal penalty – which is currently three years imprisonment – for counterfeiting drug products to 20 years imprisonment. In light of the recent press reports about the dangerous counterfeit crisis, we believe the punishment should fit the crime,” Dr. Goldhammer concluded.

Click here to view Dr. Goldhammer’s testimony.
 

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The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country’s leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that allow patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. PhRMA companies are leading the way in the search for new cures. PhRMA members alone invested an estimated $43 billion in 2006 in discovering and developing new medicines. Industry-wide research and investment reached a record $55.2 billion in 2006.

PhRMA Internet Address: www.phrma.org

PhRMA en Español: www.nuestraphrma.org

For information on how innovative medicines save lives, visit: www.innovation.org

For information on the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, visit: www.pparx.org

For information on the danger of imported drugs, visit: www.buysafedrugs.info