Mathilde MERCKX, alongside Anne BEINIER and Cédric MWAMBA, spoke on medicine counterfeiting during the first Europe-Africa Health Summit held at the French Senate in May 2025.
Key points discussed:
- Counterfeit medicines do not only infringe the intellectual property rights of manufacturers but also pose a serious public health risk,
- European regulations define counterfeit medicines and provide mechanisms to combat them, such as serialization and regulation of online medicine sales,
- The trafficking of counterfeit medicines is estimated to be ten times more profitable than heroin trafficking, in spite of what the criminal penalties incurred are comparatively less severe,
- According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 10 medicines in circulation worldwide is counterfeit, and 50% of medicines sold online are counterfeit.