Lu Rahman asks Scott McDougall, co-founder of The Independent Pharmacy, about the threat that counterfeit medicines pose within the supply chain.
Counterfeit medicine
LR: How big an issue is counterfeiting for the pharmaceutical sector in terms of danger to the public and lost revenue to business?
SM: In terms of revenue, the impact of counterfeiting is enormous. Collectively, pharmaceutical businesses lose billions of pounds to counterfeit medication every year.
But the billions in lost revenue pales in comparison with the lives lost as a result of fake medicine. While Western countries are not immune to this risk, most deaths occur in countries with poor quality control, scant regulatory inspections, and a high demand for medicines (such as anti-malarial drugs in Africa).