Combat strategies for the $50 billion counterfeit drug market
Released on: May 22, 2008, 5:33 am
Press Release Author: Orkash
Industry:
Press Release Summary: New Delhi, May 22, 2008: Drug counterfeiting, over the years,
has grown in scale and capabilities. Emerging economies like India have eventually
evolved as the hub of counterfeit drug manufacturing. Speaking at the prestigious
2008 Silicon valley Conference organized by High Technology Crime Investigation
Association (HTCIA) in San Francisco, Ashish Sonal highlighted the modus operandi
and said that “The complexity of the counterfeit supply chain has intensified -
especially with the emergence of Internet-based sales channels and the transnational
payment gateways to procure generics and APIs from patent-insecure nations to
convert them into counterfeits.” Through the two-hour session, Ashish guided the audience through the various software technologies, such as track back analysis of
packet level data and data mining technologies for payment gateway transactions,
that Orkash uses to zero down on the actual identity of the entities involved behind
Internet based sales of pharma counterfeits.
Press Release Body:
Globally, the pharma counterfeit market is a $50 billion industry and significantly,
35% of the detected cases of counterfeits originate from India. Indian pharma
companies lose around 4-5% of their revenue annually due to counterfeits.
International trade in pharmaceutical counterfeits is a lucrative enterprise and an
increasingly sophisticated one. Many of the operations focused on making illegal
drugs are shifting to counterfeiting drugs because of the low penalties and
extremely high profits. Price differentials of the generic drugs as compared to the
drugs in patent-protected nations is anywhere between 25-40 times. A case in point
is, while Lipitor costs USD 2 to USD 3 in the US, its Indian version sells for only
INR 5.50.This in turn fuels the counterfeit trade as players resort to repackaging
of the generics and selling them in developed markets. “Notably, unlike other
industry sectors, tackling counterfeiting in the pharma sector is of a complicated
nature since the definition of 'counterfeit drug' itself is ambiguous, primarily due
to the varying patent regimes” added Ashish. Many developing and small nations have
porous borders, facilitating the transit of medicines from neighboring countries
where they are legally sold. Hence, with the end of an international border, the
drug which is 'LEGAL' in one country becomes 'ILLEGAL' or a 'COUNTERFEIT' in another
nation.
With new drug development requiring an average of 12 years and $1.7 billion, the
anti counterfeiting measures should be viewed as guarding a strategic investment.
Talking on the anti counterfeiting strategies, Ashish emphasized, “The pharma companies need to reorient their anti counterfeiting strategies from their present
format of convicting the foot soldiers of the crime and seizing counterfeit
products.” Pharma companies need to decipher the entire supply chain of the
counterfeit trade and de-complex the system of organized counterfeit crime. “Here,
it becomes imperative to analyze meticulously the value-chains in sales and
distribution channels based on a data driven approach” added Ashish. To curb the
sale of counterfeit drugs through Internet-based channels, pharma companies need to
adopt a collaborative approach coupled with the implementation of integrated
software technologies. Using packet level forensic tools, it is essential to track
and monitor the Internet sales channels and correlate the transactions through
payment gateways to uncover the modus operandi and the origin of the kingpins of the
counterfeit trade.”With the increased sophistication in counterfeiting drugs and its
sales,it is high time that the anti counterfeiting strategies also become equally competitive” concluded Ashish.
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About Orkash: Orkash is a management consulting and technology services company
providing custom market research, business intelligence and business assurance services for the
emerging markets. Orkash works with the senior executives to enable their companies
to compete more effectively and respond to opportunities and risks quickly and
efficiently.
The company has grown rapidly since its inception less than a year back. It delivers
value by combining deep knowledge of the local environments, qualitative research
and grass-root-level intelligence collection ability with expertise on information
discovery technologies and enterprise management systems.
Orkash’s client-base is diverse, consisting primarily of large and mid-size
internationally active businesses and financial institutions, including many of the
Fortune 1000 companies. The company prides itself in measuring the value that it
creates for its clients on strategic business metrics such as efficiencies in
execution, time-to-market, and returns. Orkash is incorporated in India (Gurgaon)
and the USA, and has representative offices in Malaysia and Singapore.
Web Site: http://orkash.com
Contact Details: Contact: Bipasha Bhardwaj at bipasha.bhardwaj@orkash.com
2009
