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TAPA ASIA PACIFIC


COUNTERING COUNTERFEITS


TAPA APAC Board Member, Alan Liu, discusses the supply chain security challenges caused by counterfeit drugs…


TAPA Asia Pacific has welcomed Alan Liu, Director, Global Brand Protection, Asia Pacific at Johnson & Johnson, as a co-opted Board Member. Alan has also been recently nominated by TAPA APAC as Chief Representative of the TAPA China Office, pending approval by the Chinese authorities.


As counterfeit drugs increasingly penetrate legitimate supply chains, creating a huge problem for security managers and end users, Vigilant invited Alan to tell us more about the risks of counterfeit medicines, how his organisation is fighting the sale of counterfeit medicine in Asia Pacific, and what he now hopes to contribute to the TAPA Asia Pacific Board.


Is the Asia Pacific region facing a problem with the sale of counterfeit medicine and, if so, what is the magnitude of the problem?


Yes, we observe the risk of counterfeit drugs in the Asia Pacific region is still existing, and it becomes more complicated under the COVID-19 situation. The counterfeit manufacturers could resume their operation at local level, especially some low tier cities and counties. They can easily get raw materials and manufacturing components from online channels, and then sell counterfeit products to consumers and patients through local wholesalers and retailers with rapid online-to- offline delivery.


Which territories in South Asia are most impacted by sales of counterfeit medicines?


India and Bangladesh, due to loose local Intellectual Property policies and the fact that they are the major exporters of pharmaceuticals in the Asia Pacific region.


Which products are highly impacted because of counterfeiting?


Oncology and cardiovascular drugs.


Is your organisation conducting regular checks on counterfeit products in highly affected markets?


Yes, we conduct market surveys every year in some high risk areas and channels to map out the level of risk. If any high value targets are identified, we would support the local authorities to take further action, like market sweeping and flash raids.


Is there any reporting structure to monitor the sale of counterfeit drugs?


Yes, I think every pharmaceutical company has its own structure for counterfeit drugs reporting. In JNJ, we have the Customer Care Center (CCC) to collect counterfeit complaints from customers or patients, and CCC will escalate the complaints to relevant departments for continued processing.


Is there any problem of counterfeits drugs on ecommerce portals?


Counterfeiters do not rest, especially when it comes to popular items such as health and medical supplies. Counterfeits have flooded online stores and ecommerce, which saw a big boom during the pandemic. Since prescription drugs are also sold online, and are more discreet and available at lower costs, it becomes more attractive for counterfeits. The online counterfeit sale network is also aware of counter-investigation loopholes and can take full advantage of ecommerce and other online marketplaces. Their communication channels also operate anonymously and are masked to avoid being detected.


What strategies has been adopted to combat sale of counterfeit products online?


Online monitoring and effective online-to- offline investigations with well-designed test buys, intel collection, data cluster analysis, and brand protection activities. A collaborative model has been established with the main B2C/C2C/O2O online marketplaces, especially in relation to intel exchange and big data analytics, to leverage their bigger databases to identify the whole online-to-offline network. We are always working to strengthen the win-win “golden triangle” collaboration with ecommerce platforms and Law Enforcement Agencies to drive better intelligence and data sharing to support online-to-offline investigations.


Alan Liu


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