Prime-TASS

April 25, 2002

Counterfeits Cost Pharmaceutical Companies on the Russian Market $250,000,000 Annually - President of the Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights

The counterfeits cost pharmaceutical companies more than $250,000,000 annually, said President of the Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR) Peter Necarsulmer at today's press conference.

According to his forecast, in two years, losses of pharmaceutical companies may double including lost sales, enforcement and IPR protection expenses.

These are the results of the survey conducted by the Association of International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (AIPM) and the Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR) with the leading foreign and domestic pharmaceutical companies operating on the Russian pharmaceutical market.

The survey found that counterfeit medicines total 12% of the Russian market, much higher than previous Russian government and industry estimates. Last October, Vladislav Kuznetsov, Deputy Chief of the Main Anti-Economic Crime Directorate of the RF Ministry of Internal Affairs, estimated that counterfeit pharmaceutical products ranged between 2.7-to-7% of the total Russian market.

The survey discovered that most of counterfeit medicines sold in Russia are locally produced. According to the surveys results, prescription drugs, over the counter medicines, vitamins and other pharmaceutical products can be counterfeit.

"While the counterfeiting of medicine is not yet at epidemic proportions, it is a problem that is growing exponentially and needs immediate attention before it becomes a crisis," said Robert Rosen, AIPM's Executive Director The Association of International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers.

Industry executives cited inadequate enforcement of intellectual property laws, the lack of tough penalties for intellectual property violations among the main obstacles to successful anticounterfeiting efforts.