ASOP Global In Action
U.S. Activities
- Participated in a U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing entitled,“Counterfeit Drugs: Fighting Illegal Supply Chains” via an ASOP Member
- Collaborated with government and private sector stakeholders to encourage voluntary action by Internet commerce companies
- Ran an educational advertisement in New York’s Times Square
- Collaborated with the FDA on “BeSafeRx,” an online pharmacy safety campaign
- Participated in the 2010 and 2013 White House Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator’s (IPEC) Joint Strategic Plan
- Worked with the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) to have rogue domain name registrars listed, for the first time, in the 2015Notorious Markets List Launched a free continuing medical education/continuing pharmacy education (CME/CPE) program with the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) focused on educating providers on the dangers of illegal online drug sellers
- Advocated for federal legislation and policy aimed at illegal drug sellers
International Activities
- Hosted international workshops on Internet pharmacies in Belgium, China, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.
- Prepared an Online Pharmacy Best Practices Toolkit and an Internet Pharmacy Survey for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) health regulators
- Led sessions at the APEC Senior Officials Meeting in Qingdoa, China
- Partnered with the governments of Italy, Spain and Portugal on consumer education
- Hosted a transatlantic summit in Brussels for U.S. and EU government officials
- Drafted a toolkit for 21 APEC Economies through the APEC Internet Sales Working Group
Internet Commerce
- Encouraged Google, Yahoo! and Bing to change their advertisement policies to prohibit ad sales to illegal online pharmacies
- Hosted a nationwide consumer education campaign using search engine advertising and created public service announcements through a national consumer contest in partnership with the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP)
- Launched ASOP EU and included internet commerce companies as members
- Supported CSIP’s “Principles of Participation” that provide Internet commerce companies with guidelines on voluntary enforcement of rules regarding illegal online drug sellers.
Outreach and Education
- Created a new consumer education platform: www.buysaferx.
pharmacy/public-awareness- campaigns/consumers - Issued more than 50 papers, comments, and testimonial documents to governments and stakeholders
- Launched a newsletter that is distributed to over 200 global officials, consumers, and stakeholders. Garnered major media coverage on Internet pharmacy issues in: The Washington Post, Politico, Roll Call, The Hill, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Washington Times, The Indianapolis Star, Inside Health Policy, Pharmacy Today, ABC News, CNN and C-SPAN
- Addressed officials at 50+ domestic and international events involving governments, healthcare providers, Internet commerce companies, and NGOs