Driven by increasingly complex supply chains, a lack of enforcement capacity, the expansion of ecommerce and more sophisticated counterfeiters and counterfeiting methods, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration estimates that approximately 10% of all pharmaceuticals currently sold globally are illicit – and this figure is continuing to grow.
The illicit trade is also relentless in its efforts. For example, in countries such as China, counterfeiters pay patients leaving pharmacies for their genuine drug boxes, filling them with false products afterwards.