BESAFE
A first of its kind Symposium on public health strategies for combating counterfeit drugs.
Symposium Executive Summary
Hosted by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Pfizer, this groundbreaking symposium united experts to tackle the urgent issue of counterfeit drugs.
In December 2023, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in
partnership with Pfizer Worldwide Medical & Safety and Pfizer Global Security, convened a first of its kind “Symposium on Public Health Strategies for Combating Counterfeit Drugs.” The event was hosted by the Behavioral and Educational Strategies for Avoiding Falsified Medicine Exposure (BESAFE) team at Johns Hopkins and brought together academia, public health researchers, drug manufacturers and suppliers, regulatory and law enforcement agencies, policymakers, and program implementers to discuss innovative solutions and
collaborative approaches to address the rising threat of counterfeit drugs.
Participants gathered with the goal of better understanding the impact of counterfeit drugs on public health, as well as identifying knowledge gaps and effective intervention strategies to prevent drug counterfeiting. The symposium findings will help inform regulators, policymakers, the pharmaceutical industry at large, and academia in developing more focused programs that address the root cause of drug counterfeiting.
Counterfeits By The Numbers
- Rapid increase in incidents of counterfeiting, from 196 in 2002 to more than 5,000 in 2019.
- Reports of counterfeits in 137 countries and more than 2,400 different medicines.
- Global counterfeit drug market estimated to be up to $400 billion.
- As much as 10% of all pharmaceuticals worldwide are counterfeit, according to WHO.
- Use of counterfeit pills more than doubled between 2019 and 2021 in the United States.
- More than 79.5 million fentanyl-laced pills seized by the DEA in 2023.
- More than 95% of online pharmacies operate out of compliance with U.S. laws and standards, according to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.
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Observation by Symposium Particpants
- Counterfeit medicines are a global threat. Fake drugs are to blame for more than 100,000 deaths in the U.S., more than 250,000 children killed in the U.K., and as many as 500,000 people killed each year in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Counterfeit drugs contribute to increased morbidity and mortality rates, patient loss of confidence in pharmaceuticals and healthcare systems, reduced economic activity and productivity, and increasing poverty.
- E-commerce, and cross-border trade present real challenges for law enforcement. In the U.S. alone, Customs and Border Protection seized 1.5 million counterfeit pills making them the 6th most frequently seized counterfeit item.
- Healthcare professionals lack confidence and knowledge to detect and report counterfeit drugs.
- More than 95% of online pharmacies operate out of compliance with U.S. laws and standards, according to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.
* Data sources are available in the full report, which can be accessed via the provided QR code
Participating Organizations
- Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health Pfizer, Inc.
- American Pharmacists Association (APHA)
- APCO Worldwide
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Butler University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
- GS1
- International Federation of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers (IFPW)
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
- National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP)
- Partnership for Safe Medicines
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Trade (CBP)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- World Customs Organization (WCO)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
Key Take Aways
- It is crucial to leverage available resources from global organizations, governments, drug manufacturers and suppliers, professional organizations, and academic institutions.
- There are opportunities for collaboration on interventions to (1) increase the public’s awareness, and (2) educate consumers on how to verify the authenticity of purchased medicines. Both efforts should be complemented with programs to strengthen the capacity and skills of regulatory bodies and healthcare professionals to recognize, assess, and respond to the threat of counterfeits.
- More technology-based solutions are needed to develop robust monitoring and surveillance platforms. There is an urgent need to capture consumer behaviors, counterfeiting patterns, and trends through consumer and healthcare personnel surveys and machine learning applications.
“We must come together as a community to support, educate and protect patients and providers from the devastating life-changing impact of counterfeit medicines.”
Dr. Aida Habtezion, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Worldwide Medical & Safety, Pfizer
