TOKYO —

Pharmaceutical companies in Japan are making strenuous efforts to combat the rapid spread of fake medicines, such as drugs for erectile dysfunction sold on the Internet or through unauthorized sales channels.

They include Pfizer Japan Inc., Bayer AG and Eli Lilly Japan KK, all of which asked Japanese customs in 2006 and 2007 to try to stop the import of counterfeit ED drugs.

Pfizer said customs officers have seized more than 123,000 fake Viagra pills in 169 cases since they accepted its request for a ban on the intrusion of such drugs into Japan in May 2006.

Similarly, the confiscation of medicines that look like Bayer’s Levitra and Eli Lilly’s Cialis is said to be increasing. However, quite a few cases of evasion of customs’ surveillance have also been reported.

Eli Lilly conducted a survey last year targeting about 1,000 men who thought they had or might have ED and learned that 77% of them believed that more than half of the remedial drugs sold on the Internet were not genuine.

But although only a small number of those polled were convinced of the safety of such medicines, 58% said they would like to buy them on the Net. The biggest reason they cited was that they did not want other people to know how they tried to get them.

Pharmaceutical industry sources and some academics said false medicines not only violate corporate intellectual property rights but may also pose a risk to people’s health.

The World Health Organization defines all drugs intentionally displaying fake information on the origin of ingredients and for fraudulent purposes as counterfeit medicines.

Drugs with insufficient amounts of effective ingredients could change a person’s symptoms for the worse and those containing impurities could result in death.

In one such example, many people in some other countries reportedly died after swallowing a fake cough syrup containing a harmful substance used in vehicle antifreeze.

Kazuko Kimura, a professor of Kanazawa University’s graduate school, said sales of fake medicines in Japan, the United States and advanced nations in Europe account for less than one percent of the total.

But Kimura, who specializes in international health and pharmacy, said sales of fake drugs in developing countries amount to anywhere from 10% to 30% of the total, adding that many instances of harm to health, including deaths, have occurred.

She said the spread of counterfeit drugs could generate a loss of credibility in genuine medicines, damage corporate profits and cause distrust in the medical industry. It could also become a source of funds for organized crime, she added.

Kimura said the best way to guard against the spread of fake medicines in Japan is to obtain genuine drugs from reputable places such as medical institutions and pharmacies.

She said the government maintains firm controls on regular sales channels in Japan. She also said the Internet is risky and added that a WHO survey showed more than 50% of drugs sold on the Net were not genuine.

The biggest problem is that individuals continue to import drugs for ED from the Internet even though such medicines require doctors’ prescriptions.

© 2008 Kyodo News. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission.

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3 Comments

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  GrouchyGaijin at 09:39 AM JST - 13th May

  The big pharmos don't care a whit about the safety of fake drugs. Like the old bumper sticker said, "Don't Steal - The Government Hates Competition!" It's a case of their market share being whittled away, and the possibility of liability should a lookalike medicine prove to have unforeseen side-effects. Follow the money.

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  Triumvere at 12:45 AM JST - 14th May

  Does it matter what their motivations are? Surely we can agree that fake drugs are bad for everyone?

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  conqueror_of_Uranus at 03:56 PM JST - 21st May

  The only real drug problem is scoring real good drugs.

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