Counterfeit Viagra and other medications to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) pose a severe threat to public health and safety. Although buying these pills online may be legal, consuming them is dangerous for patients looking for affordable medicines.
Unfortunately, many still take the risk and purchase sildenafil citrate – the active pharmacological ingredient in Viagra – through unscrupulous internet pharmacies. There are many reasons they take the chance, and therein lies the challenge your brand must address. Criminals can profit mightily from fake ED tablets because global demand remains high. Prescriptions are required in many parts of the world to purchase ED pills, so men try to procure them without a physician’s approval.
The result is a black market for counterfeit Viagra that is a persistent risk for men who choose to buy ED medicine online. According to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy in 2018, only 4 percent of online pharmacies satisfied U.S. regulations, yet men continue to use these marketplaces to buy counterfeit Viagra. Indeed, the problem is persistent, but it is feasible to build a robust ecosystem of anti-counterfeit protection to safeguard patients.
Counterfeit Viagra can be fatal
In reality, consuming fake medicines can be deadly, and counterfeit Viagra or Cialis is no different. Since sildenafil affects the cardiovascular system, fake or contaminated ingredients can cause adverse reactions and health complications for sensitive patients. Men with diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure may take drugs that trigger a medical emergency if ingested with sildenafil.
So-called “herbal Viagra” can be equally as dangerous. A former professional basketball player collapsed in 2015 after consuming an alternative to Viagra, which was supposed to be safe. Nevertheless, the incident proved that anyone – even an athlete – can have a cardiac event from fake ED medication. The risk is real and significant despite the widespread availability of counterfeit drugs online. From September 2020 to September 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized approximately $16.3 million in fake ED tablets, and the trend continues to this day.
Why are ED drugs counterfeited more than other medications?
According to Boston University professor Muhammad Zaman, fake Viagra is the most profitable drug for counterfeiters in terms of revenue. Simply put, fake ED pills are profitable because men are willing to circumvent legitimate channels to procure the drugs. Whether it’s due to shame, embarrassment, or a lack of a prescription, the black market for Viagra thrives online where there is little, if any, oversight for digital pharmacies.
Another issue is the fact that men take these drugs even though they may not suffer from ED in the first place. Men who abuse ED pills cannot obtain the medicine without an actual diagnosis, so that’s why they turn to illicit channels where a prescription isn’t necessary. A fake Viagra tablet may even contain the synthetic drug sulfoaildenafil, a chemical analog to real sildenafil, which counterfeiters can produce in massive quantities outside of the legitimate pharmaceutical supply chain.
The consequences of counterfeit Viagra
Aside from bodily harm and death, the consequences of counterfeit Viagra are far-reaching. The risk to public health and safety cannot be ignored, and the manufacturers who produce these medications diligently fight against counterfeiting. If consumers believe that your brand doesn’t care about their safety – and puts profits above people’s lives – the damage to your reputation will be significant.
Additionally, regulators and law enforcement authorities may hold you liable for lack of due diligence. In a worst-case scenario, unethical pharmacies may intentionally distribute illicit ED medicines because the pills are readily available online – and for a fraction of the price of real Viagra or Cialis. Nevertheless, anti-counterfeit solutions exist; however, their effectiveness is questionable due to the dynamics of the black market for ED tablets.
Existing anti-counterfeit solutions
Ironically, part of the problem is the sheer popularity of Viagra and similar medications. With generic versions now available, men have many options but make the mistake of trusting that all ED medicine is safe. Consumers trust that any drugs they procure from a licensed pharmacist have already been checked for safety, yet that’s not the case with online pharmacies.
The good news is that pharmaceutical companies have been very diligent against counterfeiting. The catch is that they haven’t been as successful as they must be in keeping men safe. Usually, brands rely on holograms on shipping containers or bottles to prove authenticity. Unfortunately, visible protections like these markings can be altered, forged, or removed. Any protection that depends on human verification will be inherently vulnerable to counterfeiting, yet your brand can leverage technology to minimize human error.
AlpVision anti-counterfeit solutions
AlpVision’s anti-counterfeit solutions can provide you with sophisticated anti-counterfeit capabilities to spot fake erectile dysfunction drugbefore it reaches pharmacy shelves and harms patients. The challenge will be creating covert protections that counterfeiters cannot replicate. Overt defenses no longer suffice to deter counterfeiters, so a new paradigm must step to the fore.
You can create more robust safeguards for pharmaceutical anti-counterfeiting by deploying high-tech anti-counterfeit solutions from AlpVision: Cryptoglyph and Secure QR Code.
AlpVision’s digital anti-counterfeit tech – Cryptoglyph – secures packaging and labeling. Originally invented in 2001, Cryptoglyph punches small dots over the package’s surface. These tiny holes are invisible to the naked eye and, thus, hidden to fraudsters too. Additionally, we developed Secure QR Code tech in concert with the updates to Cryptoglyph so that you can verify authenticity quickly and accurately.
One possibility is printing Cryptoglyphs in the varnish layer on top of the two-dimensional matrix code. The Cryptoglyph ensures that products are authentic, while the QR code contains tracking and tracing data. With AlpVision, you can verify both using a smartphone to scan the code.
An alternative is to deploy Secure QR Code technology, containing microscopic holes in the code’s pattern. Without a doubt, Cryptoglyphs are very effective at thwarting counterfeiters, yet you can develop stronger anti-counterfeit defenses when you place these invisible markings on top of Secure QR Codes.
This way, you will have more protection that only strengthens your anti-counterfeiting posture. You can’t eliminate ED pill counterfeiting altogether, but you make it much harder for con artists to ply their illegal trade. The main question is: which solutions would work best for your brand?
If you’d like to read more about the benefits of Cryptoglyph and Secured QR Codes, download our latest white paper to explore your options.
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