In March of 2020, we knew so much less than we do now about COVID-19. One thing we did know, however, was that testing would be a critical element in fighting the pandemic. Testing sites were established around the globe, with unprecedented demand. It was completely predictable that the “bad guys” would look to profit by introducing counterfeit tests into the market. And they did. I wrote about it then: https://blog.systechone.com/blog/counterfeit-coronavirus-covid19-tests
Pharmaceutical serialization has been looked upon as a panacea for the rampant global issue of counterfeiting. Now that enforcement data has become available on the US Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) and EU Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD), it’s time to analyze the results. Has serialization put an end to counterfeiting?
Spoiler alert. According to the EU IP Office, pharmaceutical counterfeiting has not slowed down but is a growing threat.
Liquid Gold. That's how Interpol has described organized crime's view of vaccine demand. The more in demand a product is, the more it will be counterfeited. We can count on an absolute tidal wave of COVID vaccine and treatment counterfeiting to flood the markets now that the vaccine is available.
Crowdsourcing your counterfeit detection gives you an army of real-time field inspectors. The underlying tech is also your key to more connected customers.
Crime has no moral code. If you have a high-demand product, people will likely counterfeit it. Itcomes as no surprise that during this time of pandemic, counterfeiters are targeting everythingfrom hand sanitizer to test kits. (In 2020 I blogged about counterfeit COVID test kits and counterfeit COVID vaccines.)
I have written and spoken about global counterfeiting issues many times. Pretty much in every single one, I’ve said something like “if you have a successful product, it will be counterfeited.” Illicit counterfeit rings have infiltrated pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, cosmetics, fragrances, automobile parts, aircraft parts, clothing, footwear, wine, spirits and more. The riches and rewards from producing and distributing counterfeit products in most cases far outweigh the penalties of getting...
The fight against counterfeiting and diversion is at a crossroad. Never has there been such a loss of revenue due to these global supply chain threats and it’s only getting worse. Companies are spending over $105 billion annually to combat these issues, yet this “gray market” of products is projected to surpass $2.8 trillion globally by 2022… That’s a 100% increase over ten years!
Virtually all brands—from the utmost recognized to the newly eager—face threats of product counterfeiting and gray market trading. In emerging countries, this menace is bold and audacious with outright fakes appearing in the open marketplace. In developed countries, the problem is equally insidious due to online sales of counterfeit products through e-commerce platforms.
In this Packaging Europe clip from AIPIA World Congress, Systech’s Alastair Taylor talks about the value of active intelligent packaging for a truly secure supply chain. We propose our brand protection suite is actually the perfect anti-counterfeiting solution. See why.
I recently participated in a national campaign to warn consumers about the prevalence of counterfeit products—they are virtually everywhere. And more importantly, to let people know that there isn’t one failsafe method at this time to guarantee the authenticity of the products you purchase.
