Black marketeers thrive at a time of global crisis

New research from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD highlights the scale of pharmaceutical and medical products counterfeiting - a global problem that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A joint report with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), titled Trade in Counterfeit Pharmaceutical Products, finds the black market was worth 4 billion euros ($4.34 billion) in 2016.

That figure, derived from analysis of customs seizures over the period 2014 to 2016, excludes fake medicines produced and consumed domestically, as well as shipments that are stolen in transit.