Intellectual property and the fight against counterfeit drugs

Counterfeit drugs, and the criminalbusinesses of making, distributing andselling them, are a global scourge. RecentWorld Health Organisation (WHO) estimatessuggest that while in some developingcountries more than 30% of medicines arecounterfeit, in developed countries witheffective regulatory mechanisms and marketcontrols counterfeits account for less than1% of the market value.