Trends in counterfeit drugs and pharmaceuticals before and during COVID-19 pandemic

Ziavrou, Kalliroi S.; Noguera, Stephen; Boumba, Vassiliki A.

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2022.111382

Cited by 33 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Counterfeiting is not limited to vaccines alone. Counterfeited versions of basic necessities required during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as face masks, PPE kits, N95 masks, gloves, sanitisers and diagnostic kits, along with medicines such as antivirals, chloroquine, paracetamol, and vitamin C were also abundant in the market [ 20 ]. COVID-19 stretched the healthcare system of even the developed countries to breaking point.…”

Section: Impact Of Covid-19 On Counterfeiting Of Medicinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tackling Counterfeit Drugs: The Challenges and Possibilities

et al. 2023

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Drugs that have been manufactured or packaged fraudulently are referred to as counterfeit/fake/spurious/falsified drugs because they either lack active ingredients or have the incorrect dosages. Counterfeiting of drugs has become a global issue with which the whole world is grappling. The World Health Organization states the frightening figure in which almost 10.5% of the medications worldwide are either subpar or fake. Although developing and low-income countries are the targets of the large-scale drug counterfeiting activities, fake/substandard drugs are also making their way into developed nations including the USA, Canada, and European countries. Counterfeiting of drugs is leading to not only economic loss but is also playing its part in the morbidity and mortality of patients. The recent COVID-19 pandemic fuelled the demand for certain categories of medicines such as antipyretics, remdesivir, corticosteroids, vaccines, etc., thus increasing the demand and manufacture of subpar/fake medicines. This review articulates the current trends and global impact of drug counterfeiting, current and potential measures for its prevention and the role of different stakeholders in tackling the menace of drug counterfeiting.

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Section: Impact Of Covid-19 On Counterfeiting Of Medicinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tackling Counterfeit Drugs: The Challenges and Possibilities

et al. 2023

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“… 25 As claims of medications such as ivermectin, an antiparasitic, and hydroxychloroquine, an immunomodulator and antimalarial, became publicized as treatments for COVID-19, online counterfeiters quickly began marketing these products through exaggerated and persuasive claims. 26 Since the declaration of the pandemic in February 2020, a special task force was designed by the US government to combat fraudulent medical products. In fact, the FDA issued 120 warning letters, 270 virtual marketplace reports, and 225 domain registrar complaints surrounding the public against the use of unapproved COVID-19-related drug products.…”

Section: Previous Issues With Medication Supply Chainmentioning

confidence: 99%

A narrative review of illegal online pharmacies and contemporary issues with restricting FDA-approved medication access

Jillani,

Reinhard,

Hertig

2023

The Journal of Medicine Access

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The rapid growth of technology has transformed the way the public purchases many products, including medications. Online medication purchasing has become a convenient and confidential route for patients to access healthcare without leaving their homes. Online pharmacies have many benefits but also present an increased risk for patient harm caused by unintentionally purchasing from illegal online pharmacies. Illegal online pharmacies are those that operate online without the requisite valid licenses or supply drugs not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As obtaining certain medications has become restricted, either due to policy or drug shortages, more patients are relying on services provided by Internet pharmacies. The overturning of Roe versus Wade has caused an emerging drug restriction that may coerce the public to turn to Internet pharmacies for purchasing medications. A narrative review was conducted to analyze both the past and present effects of medications sold by illegal online pharmacies to help recognize the implications of restricting access to FDA-approved medications. Several large science and health literature databases were searched to find relevant references. Resulting resources, which referenced the connection between restricting access to FDA-approved medications and the increase in illegal online sales, were included in this review. The information evaluated in this article will help inform healthcare providers and policymakers of the inadvertent effects of restricting access to FDA-approved medications.

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“…They found that over time, counterfeit drugs have become a key issue in research and investigation. Ziavrou reviewed [ 17 ] the trends in counterfeit drugs and drug trafficking, the impact of their use on health, and the measures and actions taken to limit the spread of counterfeit drugs and drugs before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ryu et al [ 18 ] explored how linguistic and visual aspects of anti-counterfeiting advertisements influence the purchase of counterfeit luxury brands, and they found that anti-counterfeiting messages influenced participants’ purchase intentions through social adjustment and the perception of value-expression benefits.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic supervision of counterfeit products based on blockchain technology: A differential game on goodwill accumulation

Sun,

Xu,

Liu

2023

PLoS ONE

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Counterfeiting is a serious problem in many industries, and the annual profit and tax losses caused by counterfeit products in China have reached over 60 billion yuan. The focus of this paper is to study the effect of blockchain technology in terms of supervising counterfeit products as well as product quality and service decisions under blockchain from a dynamic optimization perspective. We consider the role of blockchain when disclosing product quality information and develop a dynamic optimization model before and after blockchain adoption using differential game theory. Meanwhile, we solve the model using the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation and backward induction and conduct parametric, comparative, and numerical analyses of the equilibrium solutions. The main findings are as follows: First, we find that in the absence of blockchain, counterfeit products can reduce brand goodwill and decrease the quality and service level of genuine products; however, supervising counterfeit product sales through blockchain can improve this problem under the critical conditions determined in this work. Second, in the direct sales mode, we find that if the unit operating cost and fixed cost of blockchain are small, the brand owner’s adoption of blockchain can not only combat the counterfeiter’s profit but also increase its own profit. Third, in the wholesale sales mode, we find that the best conditions in which a brand owner can establish blockchain are only related to the related costs of blockchain, while retailers also need to increase the selling price of genuine products when establishing blockchain. Fourth, we find that supply chain performance and blockchain supervisory effects are sensitive to key parameters through numerical analysis in a quantitative form. These findings have important implications for genuine enterprises in terms of determining the conditions for establishing blockchain to combat counterfeiting and for optimizing product quality and service decisions when using blockchain technology.

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Trends in counterfeit drugs and pharmaceuticals before and during COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 33 publications

References 28 publications

Tackling Counterfeit Drugs: The Challenges and Possibilities

Tackling Counterfeit Drugs: The Challenges and Possibilities

A narrative review of illegal online pharmacies and contemporary issues with restricting FDA-approved medication access

Dynamic supervision of counterfeit products based on blockchain technology: A differential game on goodwill accumulation

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