“The Global Threat of Counterfeit Drugs: Why Industry and Governments Must Communicate the Dangers”, (; backlinks; similar):
The production of substandard and fake drugs is a vast and under-reported problem, particularly affecting poorer countries. It is an important cause of unnecessary morbidity, mortality, and loss of public confidence in medicines and health structures. The prevalence of counterfeit drugs appears to be rising (see “The Scale of the Problem”) and has not been opposed by close cooperation between drug companies, governments, or international organizations concerned with trade, health, customs and excise, and counterfeiting.
In this article we suggest that many pharmaceutical companies and governments are reluctant to publicize the problem to health staff and the public, apparently motivated by the belief that the publicity will harm the sales of brand-name products in a fiercely competitive business. Publicly, at least, several industry sources say the justification for secrecy is to avoid any alarm that could prevent patients taking their genuine medicines. We argue that this secrecy, and the subsequent lack of public health warnings, is harming patients and that it is also not in the long-term interests of the legitimate pharmaceutical industry. We urge a change to mandatory reporting to governmental authorities, which should also have a legal duty to investigate, issue appropriate public warnings, and share information across borders. This is not a role for the pharmaceutical industry, which has a serious conflict of interest.