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Corporate Responsibility Report 2008

Counterfeiting

• Approach
• Performance

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), less than one per cent of pharmaceutical products sold in developed countries are counterfeit, but in the developing world this figure may be higher than 10 per cent, and up to 30 per cent in some countries.

Counterfeit drugs come in many variations, and may contain:

• None of the legitimate active ingredient
• The active ingredient in reduced or sub-therapeutic amounts
• A completely different and/or inappropriate active ingredient
• Impurities such as unapproved colourants or microorganisms
• Packaging that falsifies the product description or expiry date

Most counterfeit drugs are not subject to quality control, hygiene standards, testing of ingredients and monitoring of product specifications or equipment. Counterfeiting is a threat to public health, potentially causing harm to patients and even death.

We add anti-counterfeiting features to our product packaging. These include holograms, security seals, complicated background patterns that are difficult to photocopy or scan, as well as a wide variety of covert identifiers which are added using print technologies and sophisticated markers. These help us to identify counterfeits and gather evidence against offenders. Our Packing Design Technology and Security team in the UK carries out forensic examinations of all suspected counterfeit GSK products.

Our sales representatives worldwide also play an important role in helping to discover counterfeit products through continual observation of the local market. Our Corporate Security department investigates every potential case of counterfeiting. It uses internal and external investigators to collect information, which we then assess and report to the relevant government authorities to set in motion official law enforcement action.

As well as removing fake products from the market, one of our primary aims is to trace the products back to source, to shut down the manufacturers and their partners (for example the packaging printers and distributors). We provide training for regulatory authorities, such as the State Food and Drug Administration (sFDA) in China, law enforcement agencies and customs officers in many parts of the world.

GSK works very closely with the wider pharmaceutical industry to investigate cases of counterfeiting and we also raise awareness with governments internationally, pressing for stricter laws and more severe penalties. GSK is a founding member of the Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI), which coordinates information collection and investigations within the industry internationally. The PSI is influential in helping to shape anti-counterfeiting policy among national governments and international organisations. Together with the PSI, GSK is a major contributor to the WHO’s internationally represented anti-counterfeiting working groups.

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