Collaboration to Fight Illegal Online Drug Sales Says Libby Baney

Illegal online drug sellers have provided tens of millions of Americans with prescription medication via the Internet without a valid prescription, recent research has found.

These rogue sellers have preyed upon 36 million people, or 1 in 6 Americans, exposing them to the potential of taking counterfeit and unapproved medications, according to the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP) in its news release, "Research About Dangerous Practice — and the 11 Internet Commerce Companies Partnering Together to Protect Patients — Announced as Part of White House Forum."

The proliferation of illegal online drug sellers offering medication without a prescription has prompted major Internet commerce companies to take action to curb this dangerous practice, the release said. The information was released from The Partnership at Drugfree.org at the White House Intellectual Property Health and Safety Forum. The research was funded by ASOP, of which the Partnership at Drugfree.org is a member.

At the Summit, it was announced that 11 companies have come together voluntarily to create a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving public health and safety by targeting illegal online drug sellers. The companies include: American Express, eNom, Go Daddy, Google, MasterCard, Microsoft, Network Solutions, NeuStar, PayPal, Visa and Yahoo!

"The announced collaboration is a huge win for public health, and marks the first time that so many Internet commerce stakeholders have worked together on a comprehensive solution to address the rogue online drug sellers posing as Internet pharmacies," Libby Baney, an advisor at B&D Consulting which counsels ASOP, said. "ASOP joins IPEC (Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator) in applauding the voluntary action by these 11 companies, and we look forward to working with these leading organizations to ensure patients have access to safe, legitimate online pharmacies."

In June, the Obama Administration submitted to Congress a strategic plan to combat intellectual property theft, including the production and sale of counterfeit medications. Since that time, IPEC has been working to increase cooperation between the government and the private sector to protect consumers from counterfeit medications sold on the Internet by illegal online drug sellers.

"Consumers need to understand that the products they receive from Internet drug sellers are often not the same, FDA-approved medicine that they could get from a legitimate pharmacy," Baney added. "Products sold on rogue websites may be ineffective, harmful or worse."

"The Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies plans to procure additional research to gain insights into why consumers buy online, what kinds of medicines they buy and why some consumers perceive the risks while others don't," Baney continued. "We are eager to partner with the 11 Internet commerce companies announced (December 14, 2010) who have agreed to take a stand against this public health threat."