John P. Clark, Pfizer’s Chief Security Officer and VP of its Global Security Team, testified last November before the House Judiciary Committee about the risks Pfizer clients face when taking bogus medicines.
“Counterfeit medicines pose a threat because of the conditions under which they are manufactured – in unlicensed and unregulated sites, frequently under unsanitary conditions – and the lack of regulation of their contents. In many instances, they contain none of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) found in the authentic medicine, or an incorrect dosage, depriving patients of the therapeutic benefit of the medicines prescribed by their physicians,” Clark said.
He characterized piracy as a “global problem” where nobody is immune and commended the US Congress for its legislative initiative. According to its official website, Pfizer is the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical company and in 2010 had $ 67,809 million in revenues.