With the frenetic global search for a cure for COVID-19 having reached a fever pitch, recent seizures of fake drugs in various countries have included considerable quantities of drugs that are being touted as protection against the virus.
A report published earlier this week in the Turkish press cites both the European Union (EU) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as cautioning that the spike in the circulation of fake drugs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic underscores the need to address a growing international trade in counterfeit pharmaceuticals which not only costs consumers billions but can, in many instances, place lives at further risk rather than save them. The joint EU/OECD report on which this information is based was published in April this year.