Interfax

April 25, 2002

Counterfeiting Costs Pharmaceutical Companies $250 Million Annually

At a conference held at the Interfax news agency on Thursday, CIPR President Peter Necarsulmer presented the results of a survey revealing counterfeit medicines total 10 to 12% of the Russian market.

According to Mr. Necarsulmer, in two years, losses of pharmaceutical companies may double and the market share of counterfeit medicines may increase to 25%. He also underscored that until Russia lacks adequate leverage of anti-counterfeiting efforts, it will be impossible to get over the crisis. In particular, it is necessary to include the definition of counterfeit products in the legislation and strengthen financial and criminal penalties for production and distribution of counterfeits. "We should be confident that counterfeit products will be seized and destructed," he said.

According to AIPM Executive Director Robert Rosen, the survey results indicated that the amount of counterfeit drugs on the Russian market increased two or four times as compared to those in the past year. According to estimates, 2.7-7% of the drugs on the Russian market were counterfeit in 2001.

In 2002, AIPM and CIPR conducted a survey of fifty-three international and Russian pharmaceutical executives representing 55% of Russia's entire pharmaceutical market, including 25% of locally produced medicines.

The annual turnover of the Russian pharmaceutical market amounts to $2-2.5 billion.