The intellectual property protection system creates opportunities that counterfeiters exploit, especially since pharmaceutical counterfeiting involves low risk, but high reward. Criminals follow the money and typically counterfeit expensive patented drugs rather than generics. For example, a well-known anti-retroviral triple combination drug regimen costs over $12,000 per year, whereas unlicensed generic companies sell the same drugs in underdeveloped countries for under $200 per year.15 This yields a 60:1 ratio, which attracts counterfeiters. Even worse, contraceptives and vaccines have been found to have pricing ratios of up to 200:1.15 Pricing ratios assume that the counterfeiters intend to deliver functional drugs. This is true in illegal narcotics because customers want to feel a difference in mental state, so a placebo is easily spotted.15 However, a placebo is not so easily spotted when it is given to a patient because the lack of therapeutic effect may not be noticed for months. By the time it is noticed, it could be difficult to trace the lack of effect to the counterfeit. In addition, some counterfeits contain small amounts of the active ingredient which is enough to relieve some symptoms, but not cure the …show more content…
Jim Herrington, the executive director of the Gillings Global Gateway at the University of North Carolina, explains, “You’re more likely to get prosecuted for counterfeiting a Gucci purse than a drug”.6 If the goal of pharmaceutical intellectual property law is to promote innovation, then counterfeiting shows that the law is not well suited to achieving that goal.15 Counterfeiting is a major threat to public health and innovation, creating damages from government reimbursement systems and equitable access programs. In addition, counterfeits contribute to the problem of drug-resistant strains of diseases. To solve this problem, the incentive to counterfeit needs to be