This is the second of a two-part series.  

As Thanksgiving draws near, it is a perfect time to reflect on the things that we are thankful for from this past year. Part one of this series covered new tag technology, the Medicrime Convention, and more. Below are additional developments that have impacted the fight against online illicit pharmacies this past year.

• Interactive e-course on the dangers of falsified medicinal products: IRACM (International Institute of Research against Counterfeit Medicine), a Fight the Fakes member, launched a training course to help medical professionals and consumers better understand the various issues and challenges of counterfeit drugs online.
• China will begin allowing online sales of prescription drugs: Using a mobile app called Alijk , patients will be able to upload and send photocopies of doctor’s prescriptions to nearby pharmacies, check the availability of medicines, compare the prices, and eventually make payments. Qualified online pharmacies can then fill the orders via in-store purchase or home delivery service.
• European Stakeholder Model (ESM) launched a Europe-wide hub for sharing data related to medicines in the pharmaceutical supply chain: Using the hub, stakeholders across the pharmaceutical sector will work together to improve the security of the legitimate supply chain and, most importantly, to promote patient safety.
• We worked with the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies to facilitate dialogue in Cebu, Philippines with 19 economies from three continents on the topic of illegitimate online drug sellers.

In addition to these exciting developments in combating counterfeit drugs online, CSIP has introduced several new resources on our website this year. We wish you a happy, healthy, and safe Thanksgiving holiday and look forward to more great things to come!

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The Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP) and our 12 member companies have the shared goal of helping address the growing problem of consumer access to illegitimate pharmaceutical products on the Internet. Continue to read this blog for updates on CSIP’s education, enforcement and information-sharing efforts.