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The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) announced recently that thousands of illicit online pharmacies, to be more precise 10.600 websites, were shut down in the largest-ever global operation targeting fake medicines. Interpol estimates that sales of counterfeit medicines could top USD 90 billion! The World Health Organization (WHO) and most public authorities worldwide are now aware of the seriousness of the problem.Obviously, the most dangerous products are those without active ingredients, or containing wrong ingredients.Experts say the global fake industry causes the death of almost 1 million people a year! It is a fact that counterfeiting occurs throughout the world.The WHO estimates that 10 to 30% of medicines sold in developing countries are counterfeit which must be compared to less than 1% in the industrialized world. If we focus on India's important pharmaceutical sector and its exports worth about USD 9 billion,independant experts estimate the fakes in a range from 10 to 25%. The Indian government says that only 0.5% of the country's drugs are counterfeit and that substandard drugs account for about 8%. Whatever the reality of the figures, the consequences for human health are often dramatic. Fortunately, the number of international initiatives to combat this phenomenon is growing. Thus, within the Council of Europe 23 countries have already signed the Convention "Medicrime" which determines the penal sanctions to punish the counterfeiters. Worldwide regulations and partnerships between the public authorities and the private sector are key to curb the flow of fake drugs. In addition, we need to increase consumer vigilance on the effects of bad purchasing practices. Indeed,in more than 50% of cases, drugs purchased over the Internet from illegal sites are counterfeit. And what we know for sure is that fake medicines are becoming increasingly difficult to detect. Thats why the combat has even become more complex.

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