Counterfeit drug makers using legitimate channels

Beijing (CNS) – Some counterfeit medicines are flowing through regular distribution channels, posing a serious risk to the safety of the medicine market, according to an official report released on February 13.

China's State Council issued a National Medicine Safety Plan for 2011- 2015 on that date, asserting that medical safety in China has improved by virtue of a higher rate of spot checks conducted by qualified personnel on pharmaceuticals, traditional Chinese medicines and biological products.

But the report also pointed out that fraud still exists in the medicine market, citing the infiltration of an increasing number of counterfeit drugs, sold online, by mail, or even the regular distribution channels used for genuine products.

According to a source from the State Food and Drug Administration, a related department conducted a campaign to boost public safety with respect to medicine purchases that lasted two and a half years discovering over 1,800 counterfeit drug production dens involving 3.35 billion yuan of business. The public was notified of 194 websites that colluded with the counterfeiters.

An anonymous observer said lawbreakers set up websites in the name of legal medicine companies to sell the fake drugs via internet marketing. New-types of crimes like this push law enforcement authorities to provide more consistent supervision, and be smarter about case investigation and evidence collection.