Investigative Report Highlights ‘Illicit Online Pharmacies and Counterfeit Medicines’ in the ‘Notorious Market’
The report indicated that 96 percent of the 35,000 online pharmacies are operating unlawfully.
On Thursday, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a report as part of its 2024 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy, which highlights the issue of fraudulent online pharmaceutical prescriptions.
“Counterfeiting and piracy present a global challenge, affecting people not only in the United States but also worldwide,” stated U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai.
What particularly alarms Tai is the existence of illegal online pharmacies that prescribe counterfeit medication.
“This year’s report delves deeper into the activities of illicit online pharmacies and the dangers of counterfeit drugs,” she remarked.
Moreover, it also evaluates the health and safety hazards associated with consuming these counterfeit medicines, she added.
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The report identifies 38 online and 33 physical marketplaces reportedly engaged in “significant trademark counterfeiting or copyright infringement.”
Despite the convenience and growing demand for legitimate online pharmacies and telehealth services, malicious operators have replicated these platforms to evade laws, rules, and inspection systems, profiting from counterfeit drugs produced using “substandard, unregulated, and potentially hazardous materials,” as noted in the report.
“Similar to other counterfeit products, medicines with counterfeit trademarks are intentionally and fraudulently misrepresented to resemble well-known authentic brands,” the report highlighted.
According to the report, 96 percent of the 35,000 online pharmacies are acting unlawfully.
“Illicit online pharmacy sites frequently imitate legitimate e-commerce platforms, offering product navigation, a shopping cart system, ‘About Us’ pages, privacy policies, and even false claims of FDA approval, misleading consumers into trusting the authenticity of the products they buy,” stated the report.
Many counterfeit medications have been documented to contain incorrect dosages or lack active ingredients altogether.
This has been particularly true with Adderall prescriptions and cancer treatment drugs sold online, according to the report.
“In certain instances, consuming counterfeit medicines has resulted in serious side effects, including fatalities,” the report stated.
In September 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed charges against 18 individuals for the production and distribution of pills mimicking legitimate pharmaceuticals, as reported. The defendants could face life in prison or a minimum of 20 years.
The report noted that the DOJ also confiscated nine website domains utilized by the defendants for selling counterfeit pills.
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Office of Criminal Investigations Cybercrime Investigations Unit actively searches online and on the dark web for illicit activities to disrupt and dismantle “illicit online pharmacies hawking counterfeit drugs, including fentanyl, through arrests and asset seizures.”
“Consumers must remain aware of the risks involved with purchasing medications from unlicensed online pharmacies, and robust enforcement efforts must persist to tackle the rising menace of counterfeit drugs,” the report emphasized. “Effective and adequate enforcement against counterfeiting is crucial in mitigating the dangers posed by counterfeit goods, including counterfeit medicines.”
