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Fake Pharmacies and Brand Jacking on the Rise

Aug 27, 2008
By: George Koroneos, Online Content & News Editor
PharmExec Direct Marketing Edition
http://pharmexec.findpharma.com/phar.../544914?ref=25

On Tuesday, brand protection firm MarkMonitor released its latest "Brandjacking Index," a study that tracks the online presence of six major drugs to determine if the products are being sold by shady pharmacies, used in spam e-mail, or being counterfeited outright.

The numbers aren't pretty. In June 2008, MarkMonitor found more than 20,000 Web sites abusing drug trademarks. That included 2,986 suspicious online pharmacies delivering 60 million spam e-mails.

Of the pharmacies documented, only two are certified to sell drugs by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. Yet the pharmacies in the study had estimated annual sales at nearly $13 billion based on an average transaction of $70, according to the report.

While the six drugs are not named, they include a lifestyle drug, a sleep aid, anti-cholesterol, and an ulcer medication.

"The brands are not the only victims of these types of abuses," said Te Smith, vice president of communications at MarkMonitor. "There's a very real effect on consumers of these brands. Consumers' health could be at risk. You might think that you are taking a life-saving medication form a major pharmaceutical brand, yet someone is out there prescribing a diluted or fake version."

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