Counterfeits impact on parallel trade and pharmaceutical distribution

Parallel trade is a legitimate method of pharmaceutical import and export within the European Union zone. Although previously recognized in North America as illegal, cross-border re-importation is now permitted following legislation allowing drugs to be imported into the USA from Canada, notes a new report from Business Insights.

However, counterfeit drugs have been shown to be increasingly introduced into the global supply chain, which threatens patient safety, ethical pharmaceutical sales, and undermines the integrity of the distribution channels. Parallel trade is regarded as a major contributor to counterfeiting and this is explored in the report.

Furthermore, the report provides a comprehensive account of the route of market access for counterfeits and shows how companies and governments in Europe and North America are tackling the problem strategically. It also updates the reader on the latest parallel trade and anti-counterfeiting initiatives adopted globally and whether current efforts to stem the practice have been successful or not. The report discusses further action plans and recommends which strategies are likely to best curtail the practice.

This report also evaluates the extent of parallel trade in Europe and counterfeiting globally with an analysis of major counterfeit-producing countries and the anti-counterfeiting efforts currently in place.

Key findings

' Parallel trade is an expanding global sector of industry now that re-importation is permitted in the USA. European parallel trade is set to grow based on accession countries providing new markets in which to trade multiple products in multiple markets.
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' Counterfeiting is prevalent in higher priced drug markets of developed nations and also in lower priced markets of essential drugs in developing countries.
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' The drug distribution routes are the market access points for counterfeits. Parallel traded and non-parallel traded routes are vulnerable to counterfeiting.
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' Anti-counterfeiting technologies are being deployed in westernized countries but there are issues that need to be resolved before widespread implementation such as standardization of protocols, technology reliability and validity, and stakeholder funding.