Internet Companies Fight Fake Online Pharmacies

Victoria Espinel, the White House intellectual property enforcement coordinator, announced on December 14, 2010, that major American internet companies are helping to establish a non-profit organization targeting illegal Internet pharmacies in support of White House efforts. Companies participating in the effort include Google, Microsoft Corp., Yahoo! Inc., MasterCard Inc., Visa Inc., American Express Co., GoDaddy.com Inc., Neustar Inc., eNom Inc. and EBay Inc.'s Paypal Inc, reported Bloomberg. The participants are credit-card payment networks, advertisers and companies that control domain names. These are the building blocks of any online business, including illegal online pharmacies. (Partnership for Safe Medicines, December 15, 2010; Link here)

European Governments Negotiate Fake Drug Directive

The European Parliament and the Council are negotiating a directive on counterfeit medicines intended to strengthen law enforcement. The agreement's provisions are not yet public, but it is reported that sanctions and unified safety-mechanisms were on the table. In addition, the directive proposes the requirement of anti-counterfeiting technologies, like packaging serial numbers or seals upon legitimate medications, and the increase of security in the distribution chain. In addition, stricter inspection standards were discussed, reported Europolitics. Marisa Matias, Portugese delegate, sought criminal sanctions against the fake "that should be at least equivalent to those usually applied to narcotics offences." (Partnership for Safe Medicines, December 20, 2010; Link here)

Drug Cargo Hijacked in Baltimore

A medicine delivery driver was abducted and robbed at gunpoint while delivering medications to pharmacies in West Baltimore on December 13th. At a routine delivery stop at 9 a.m. in the 2000 block of W. Pratt St., outside the tiny Westside Pharmacy and Wellness Center, in West Baltimore, MD, three thieves forced the driver, at gunpoint, into the back of the delivery truck, and drove it to an unknown location where the suspects unloaded about 80 crates of pharmaceutical goods, reported the Baltimore Sun. Police called the planned robbery "incredibly thought-out." (Partnership for Safe Medicines, December 21, 2010; Link here)

Japan to Raise Consumer Awareness of Counterfeits

Japan's Patent Office (JPO) announced an "Anti-Counterfeiting Campaign" on December 10, in cooperation with the Intellectual Property Policy Headquarters and related ministries to raise public awareness of the risk of counterfeit products. As consumers purchase more products from online venues using mobile phones, the Ministry is warning consumers of the risks of counterfeits because the distribution of counterfeit goods via the Internet is increasing, says the Ministry. Beginning on December 10, six thousand posters will be displayed across Japan, in government offices, companies and institutions. In addition, a major media campaign involving print, television and web media will be instituted. (Partnership for Safe Medicines, December 17, 2010; Link here)