Generics Urged to Get Involved in Fight Against Counterfeiting

While counterfeiting is believed mainly to affect brand drugmakers, the practice, as well as various anticounterfeiting measures, has implications for generic companies, an industry expert says.

In the U.S., political discussion of the pharmaceutical industry is focused on drug safety and the cost of healthcare, but in Europe a current hot-button issue is counterfeit medicines, Greg Perry, director general of the European Generic medicines Association (EGA), said at a conference this week.

Most counterfeit drugs found in the European Union are fake versions of expensive or lifestyle drugs, and there has not yet been a report of a counterfeit generic product. However, counterfeit generic drugs are abundant in developing countries, Perry told attendees of the International Generic Pharmaceutical Alliance’s Annual Meeting.

Although the EGA supports measures to prevent counterfeit drugs from entering European countries, Perry questions the value of high-cost technology solutions to generic companies.

The EGA has entered a pact with wholesaler and pharmacist groups to establish nontechnological solutions to the counterfeiting problem. But while investing in technology may not be the answer, neither is changing patent law, Perry said. He noted that the World Health Organization’s definition of a counterfeit medicine makes no reference to patent infringement, and counterfeiting is a public health issue more so than an issue of intellectual property protection.

Perry urged the generic industry to keep watch as the U.S. and trade partners negotiate the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, which aims to better enforce intellectual property rights. “Let’s ensure that we stop the counterfeiting but that we protect our industry,” he said.