Substandard medicines have been widespread on
developing nations despite the strengthening security and laws against
counterfeiting in these countries. Conflict arises between individuals and
organizations on how and why this issue has been continuously prevailing. Its
penetration and acceptance in the market have caused alarming number of
sickness, complications and deaths in which ordinary citizens are starting to
question the authorities. The complaints have been outpouring that World Health
Organization, Food and Drug Authorities in each country and other non-profit
organizations campaigning on the same cause have been involved.
Reasons have led to one and
another. Politics, bribery to the government, the worsening case of poverty and
the weak security system have been pointed as factors to its continued
existence. One of the reasons which is noted by The Peterson Group, one of the
NGOs exclusively working against counterfeited medicines, has caused extra
agitation to the government, private pharmaceutical companies and consumers:
trade within legitimate pharmacies and counterfeit fraudsters.
Trade in legal commerce has been
overlooked with the common perception that legal businesses remain untouchable
against counterfeit
medicine scams.
United Nations Interregional Crime
and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) has been able to confirm the suspected
loophole in private pharmacies’ products. In reviewing the methods used, the
term parallel trading came to light.
The practice of parallel trading is
legal in the commercial world; however, its application and contribution in the
current issue have weighed the issue even further. At this rate, it is near
impossible to trace the real culprit as the process involves at least 20
parties.
In a raid in one of the biggest counterfeit drug smuggling in
Jakarta, Indonesia last 2013, fraudsters admit to following a cycle but
they themselves hardly have any idea as to how the medicines managed to travel
and be distributed.
The perpetrators explained that
parallel trading involves a drug that is sold in a given country, which after
having already moved through the various stages of the ordinary distribution
chain, is acquired again by the major distributors and is entered into the
parallel distribution chain. The product is then transferred to a new and more
lucrative market by means of parallel intermediaries/distributors. The times a
pharmaceutical product is transferred can be numerous. It is estimated that, on
average, a drug which is entered into the parallel market may be subject to
20-30 intermediary transactions.
This extension of the distribution
chain creates a problem of verifiability since some of the intermediaries do
not need licensing to operate.
The issue is still under investigation. Our greatest fear is that by the time the real mastermind has been apprehended, it can be too late.
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