An article on Lab Technologist has said that theft and counterfeiting of pharmaceutical is costing the industry $71 billion a year. The article, with i
nformation based on a study from consumer group America's Watchdog, states that counterfeiting costs $70 billion and "diversion" costs another $1 billion. "Diversion" is the practice of diverting legal medicines to be sold via the black market. Shipments are lost, manufacturers overproduce a medicine and then they sold, usually on the internet.
The pharmaceutical companies are taking measures to counteract this problem by using RFID tags (radio frequency identification) and other inventory control methods.
"Instead of selling diverted product to the pharmacies most product is being sold direct on the internet. The problem is getting worse." stated Americas Watchdog president Thomas Martin.
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