International companies declare war on fake drugs

International companies declare war on fake drugs

Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

A man who had high blood pressure died of a heart attack. His
insurance company suspected him of committing suicide because a
post mortem showed had not taken his prescribed medicine. The
company refused to pay the claim. After an investigation, it
turned out the man had taken the drugs during the last months of
his life -- but they were fakes.

The insurance company eventually paid his claim, said Parulian
Simanjuntak, the executive director of the International
Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group (IPMG).

"Fake drugs in circulation in this country have reached an
alarming level, they are a real threat to consumers," he told The
Jakarta Post on Thursday after speaking in a seminar -- Fighting
Counterfeiting for a Better Future -- held by the Indonesian
Anti-Counterfeiting Society (MIAP).

MIAP groups leading international and domestic manufacturers
including Aqua-Danone, Epson, Grundfos, IPMG, LVMH (Louis
Vuitton) Fashion Group, Microsoft, Philips Electronics, Procter &
Gamble, Sara Lee and Unilever. It is chaired by PT Unilever's Ian
Barty.

Parulian told the seminar the annual turnover of counterfeit
drugs in the country was worth about US$500 million, compared to
the industry's total market size of about $2 billion.

The sales of fake drugs, he said, were equal to the combined
annual sales of up to 50 pharmaceutical firms employing
some 15,000 workers.

He said most fake medicines here were smuggled from China, and
most fake drugs found in raids were pain killers, weight-loss or
lifestyle drugs, such as those that helped impotency problems.

"Counterfeit drugs impact on jobs in the pharmaceutical
industry and ruin a country's reputation, which could lead to
declining exports," Parulian said.

MIAP deputy chairman Bambang Sumaryanto said an increasing
number of manufacturers had joined the group and were complaining
about a disturbing level of counterfeit products in this country.

"We are joining together to fight counterfeiting," he said.

Bambang said the widespread distribution of counterfeit
products would end up hurting Indonesia's economy.

MIAP plans to conduct a joint study with the University of
Indonesia's Institute for Economic and Social Research to assess
the impact counterfeiting had on the economy and the business
sector, he said.

"We expect to finish the study in mid-next year," Bambang
said.

In the past decade drugs, food and beverages, fashion
products, footwear, batteries, car parts, lubricant oils,
cigarettes, computer hardware and electronic components, are some
of the products known to have been counterfeited, comprising a
total of 1,500 registered international brands.

Indonesia has laws to prosecute counterfeiters, however, most
industry players have complained about weak law enforcement.

Businesses say fighting counterfeiters individually is costly
and requires the constant monitoring of markets, especially for
products like food and beverages and drugs.

"We have created MIAP to make people realize the dangers of
using fake products. Publicity and advocacy are the most
effective tools to fight counterfeiting," Parulian said.

While fake shoes might not be as deadly as fake drugs,
counterfeiting meant Indonesia had lost potential markets that
could have employed millions of workers, he said.