What is Read

Pharmaceuticals play a more prominent role in American health care than in any other nation. The North American market today comprises 47% of the global prescription drug market, which now exceeds half a trillion dollars, with Americans spending approximately $251.8 billion annually on pharmaceuticals. This is up significantly from a decade earlier, when American consumption represented approximately one-third of the world market (IMS Health, 2006a). America’s insatiable demand for prescription drugs has led to serious cracks in the drug supply chain of the world’s leading pharmaceutical market. This chapter examines the size and scope of the problem of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, both globally and in the United States. It looks at the impact this crisis is having both on public health and the pharmaceutical industry. Today, leaders in both the pharmaceutical industry and government are looking to more stringent regulations and radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging of pharmaceuticals as a way to head off the problems associated with an increasingly leaky drug supply chain. This chapter outlines the steps being taken in the United States to help secure this vital supply chain. Finally, an analysis is given of the impact the shift to electronic pedigrees of pharmaceuticals will have both on the pharmaceutical and RFID market spaces.