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