In News

Follow this topic

Bookmark

Record learning outcomes

A new survey commissioned by Avery Dennison, a materials science and digital identification solutions company, has revealed that six in 10 people are worried their prescribed drugs might be fake or substandard. 

The survey, which collated the views of 5,000 respondents who regularly take prescribed medication in the USA, UK, France and Germany, found that almost two thirds (63%) of American respondents report anxiety about counterfeit medication, compared with over half (57%) of French respondents.

When analyzed as a subset, online pharmacy users showed higher levels of unease, with 70% across all countries expressing worry about counterfeit medication. Among respondents using online pharmacies in the US and UK, 45% said counterfeit risk is their most common concern.

Online pharmacy website legitimacy was the second-biggest worry (cited by 34%), although sentiment varied significantly, rising to 39% of American respondents and 40% in the UK. French and German respondents were slightly more trusting of online pharmacies, with 30% and 21% respectively saying they were concerned.

According to the company, counterfeit medications increasingly infiltrate legitimate supply chains, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the Unites States recently warned consumers about counterfeit Ozempic found in the drug supply chain. In addition, a US Trade Representative report stated that 96% of the world's estimated 35,000 online pharmacies operate illegally, with reports suggesting around 20 new illegal pharmacy websites are created daily.

Barbara van Rymenam, senior director, healthcare at Avery Dennison said: “People are understandably seeking greater confidence in the medicines they take. Our research shows they're ready for technology that verifies authenticity and provides helpful information directly from the product itself.

“Digital product identification can transform how patients interact with their medications, building trust while enabling pharmaceutical companies to protect their brands and, most importantly, help safeguard patients from the very real threat of counterfeits.”

The patient trust gap: how fear of counterfeit drugs is changing patient preferences, can be downloaded here.