Fake medicine sales on Internet increase

The European Commission has warned consumers about an obesity drug currently sold on the Internet which has not passed the safety evaluation process of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). A recent survey identified 170 medicines found in counterfeit distribution channels, mainly on the Internet, in 2000-2005. The most popular illicit products identified include lifestyle drugs, growth hormones for body-building use and sleeping pills. Illegal copies of licensed medicines such Viagra (sildenafil) or Tamiflu (oseltamivir) have also been sold.

The Commission is particularly concerned about French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis' Acomplia (rimonabant), which is currently under evaluation by the EMEA.

Commissioner Gunter Verheugen, responsible for enter-prise and industry, said he is "alarmed at the ever increas-ing number of counterfeit medicines sold via the Internet. This represents a real danger to the health of patients."