Beware of Counterfeits
Counterfeit drugs can damage the health – or even the lives – of unsuspecting patients. Only a well-informed patient is equipped to counter the risks.
Bayer HealthCare's commitment
All the activities of Bayer HealthCare, with its more than 50,000 staff worldwide and an annual research budget in excess of a billion euros, are devoted to enabling patients to receive the best possible treatment for their diseases. We are committed to protecting patients from the threat posed by drug counterfeiting. At the same time we must protect the good reputation of our company and our products from being damaged by misuse and counterfeit drugs.
Bayer HealthCare is intensifying its efforts to expose the counterfeiters and has launched the "Beware of Counterfeits" campaign. The company is making its contribution to combating the problem by means of product-based security measures, internal and external investigators and prosecution of offenders.
International cooperation in the investigation of counterfeiting
Success in this field requires joint efforts by the industry and its associations, as well as by state and supranational organizations. Bayer HealthCare therefore cooperates with the responsible authorities worldwide and actively supports, for example, the anti-counterfeiting activities the WHO's International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). Bayer HealthCare is a member of the Pharmaceutical Security Institute, the German Aktionskreis Produkt- und Markenpiraterie (Action Group Against Product and Brand Piracy), and many other initiatives at the national level devoted to the fight against drug counterfeiting.
Development of suggestions for improving criminal prosecution
Many countries either do not have appropriate laws or are not applying them with sufficient stringency. Internationally networked counterfeiters exploit and benefit from this situation. The Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg is currently preparing an expert opinion that will submit concrete proposals on criminal prosecution and sanctions. Bayer HealthCare AG had initiated this study and supports it financially. The initial findings are expected around the end of 2007.
