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Federal Strategic Plan to Fight Counterfeit Prescription Drugs
Vice President Joe Biden and United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel introduced a plan targeting counterfeit prescription medications, among other products infringing on intellectual property rights and endangering public safety. Announced on June 22, 2010, the Joint Strategic Plan to Combat Intellectual Property Theft (PDF), proposes several actions intended to secure the drug supply chain including:
- Requiring manufacturers and importers to notify Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about any known counterfeit pharmaceuticals and their potential adverse health consequences;
- Requiring manufacturers to provide FDA with a list of any legitimate drug products currently distributed in the US supply chain;
- Requiring manufacturers, wholesalers, and dispensers implement a track-and-trace system using electronic pedigree; and
- Facilitating further cooperation among federal agencies to increase enforcement efforts.
In his comments, Vice President Biden stressed the dangers of counterfeit products. “Counterfeit drugs are a scourge,” he said, noting that consumers often do not know what they are buying online. Referencing the search engines’ new requirement for pharmacy advertisers in the US to be VIPPS® (Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice SitesCM)-accredited, Biden said, “I applaud Google, Yahoo and Bing for the steps they've taken in recent weeks to stop selling advertising to illegal Internet pharmacies. But,” he added, “we need to go further. It's time for others to step up too, it's time to stop supporting ads for drugs sold illegally over the Internet, and for a simple reason: for the public health of Americans.” News releases about the VIPPS requirement for Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft are available on the NABP Web site.
