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Economics of Counterfeit Infectious Disease Medicines in the Mekong
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eSYS Development has just commenced a study examining the extent of the fake drug problem in the Mekong region for the Asian Development Bank. Counterfeit medicines are deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled branded and generic products. The US based Centre for Medicines in the Public Interest predicts that counterfeit drug sales will reach US$ 75 billion globally in 2010, an increase of more than 90% from 2005. Regional and national estimates are hindered by the lack of a systematic evaluation of the problem. Currently, in Asia, the sources of information available include reports from national authorities such as drug regulatory and enforcement agencies, ad hoc studies conducted on a specific geographical area or therapeutic category, reports from the pharmaceutical sector, |
| reports from NGOs and surveys. The overall aim of the study is to review and collate existing data about the prevalence of counterfeit HIV, TB and malaria medicines in Mekong region and economically quantify their impact. Quantification will focus on estimating the financial value of counterfeit drug sales, relative to the overall market size for medicines for these infectious diseases, along with estimating the economic costs to households and overall national economies from the usage of drugs with low efficacy. |
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