- It is estimated that up to a third of the world’s prescription drugs are counterfeit [1], although this figure is closer to two-thirds in some developing countries.[2] Of these, more than half are classified as lifesaving drugs, such as treatments for malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.[3]
- Worth $200 billion a year, the market for counterfeit pharmaceuticals now eclipses almost everything else in the underground economy, including prostitution, human trafficking and illegal arms sales.[4]
- A recent review of more than 11,000 websites selling prescription medications to U.S. consumers found approximately 96% appear to be in conflict with U.S. laws and pharmacy practice standards [5] and 20 new websites selling prescription medicines are launched every day.[6]
- 65% of online search results for prescription drugs lead U.S. consumers to illegal and unsafe websites.[7]
- 50% of medicines sold online by pharmacy websites that hide their physical street address are fake and 89% of illegal online pharmacies don’t require a prescription.[8]
- Products sold by illegal online drugs sellers often contain little or no active ingredients; are manufactured in unsafe conditions; and/or contain floor wax, mercury, concrete, chalk, boric acid, road tar, paint, anti-freeze and other deadly poisons.[9]
- Buying prescription medicines from illegal online pharmacies increases the risk of credit card and identity theft.[10]
- Nearly one in four adult consumers has purchased prescription medicines online and almost one in five of those indicated that they bought from a website that was not associated with a local pharmacy or health insurance plan.[11]
Before you buy medicines online, look for .pharmacy in the website address; these websites have been approved as safe and legal through the NABP’s .Pharmacy Verified Websites Program. Or visit www.BuySafeRx.pharmacy to verify that the online pharmacy you are ordering from is safe.
[1] Counterfeiting: An Industry Three Times Larger than the Illicit Global Drug Trade, Sophic Capital, 2014
[2] Counterfeit Medicines and the Role of IP in Patient Safety, IP Watchdog, 2016
[3] The World’s Medical Supply Chain Is Riddled With Counterfeit Drugs, New Republic, 2015
[4] Counterfeiting: An Industry Three Times Larger than the Illicit Global Drug Trade, Sophic Capital, 2014
[5] Internet Drug Outlet Identification Program, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, 2016
[6] The Internet Pharmacy Market in 2016, LegitScript and the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies, January 2016
[7] Online Pharmacy Market Spotlight Report: The United States, ASOP Global and LegitScript, July 2016
[8] Buying Medicine Online – What Are the Risks, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy
[9] Poisons Found in Counterfeit Medicines, Partnership for Safe Medicines, 2012
[10] What You Need to Know Before You Buy Prescription Medications Online, Disease Management, 2015
[11] Buying Prescription Medicines Online, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2013