美国众议院能源及商务委员会（House Energy and Commerce Committee）1月16日致函礼来（Eli Lilly and Co.）、葛兰素史克（GlaxoSmithKline Plc）、强生（Johnson & Johnson） 、辉瑞（Pfizer Inc.）和雪兰诺（Serono）等五家药厂，要求其在2月16日前提供打击伪劣处方药的相关信息。

美国主管机构曾表示，生产、销售伪劣药品是一种逐渐增多的犯罪行为，制药厂已加大力度与之斗争。

美国食品及药物管理局（FDA）去年发表的一份报告称，出于高额利润的诱惑，犯罪分子正以更高明的手段制造假药。调查机构已经发现了仿冒的辉瑞胆固醇药立普妥（Lipitor）以及强生的普罗克里特（Procrit）等伪药。

为了加以反击，雪兰诺药厂在自家生产的药物生长激素（Serostim）上加附条码和验证编号，以记录药品从药厂流向药店的全部过程。雪兰诺的发言人称，用于治疗因爱滋病（AIDS）所致体重下降的生长激素一直颇受造假者“欢迎”。

各大药厂均对中盘市场表示担忧，在中盘市场中，批发商间买卖药物，为假药进入流通环节提供了机会。

目前FDA也在考虑如何打击假药生产者。一FDA工作小组计划在今年内提出建议方案。

Panel Probes Ways to Fight Fake Medicines

Fri January 16, 2004 07:04 PM ET

WASHINGTON （Reuters) - A U.S. congressional committee on Friday asked five drug makers to provide information on their efforts to fight counterfeiting and diversion of prescription drugs. The House Energy and Commerce Committee sent letters to Eli Lilly and Co., GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer Inc. and Serono requesting the information by Feb. 16. "We are interested in any ongoing efforts or plans by your company to prevent counterfeiting and diversion of your drugs, and to prevent any involvement of your products with illicit Internet sites and foreign pharmacies," the letters said. Distributing fake medicines is an increasingly common crime, U.S. regulators have said, and manufacturers have stepped up efforts to combat it. A Food and Drug Administration report released last year said criminals are becoming more sophisticated at copying fake medicines and are lured by the high prices they can charge for the drugs. Investigators have uncovered fake copies of Pfizer's cholesterol drug Lipitor, Johnson & Johnson's Procrit and other medicines. To fight back, Serono uses bar codes and identification numbers to track its supplies of Serostim from the company to pharmacies. Serostim treats severe AIDS-related weight loss and had been targeted by counterfeiters, company spokeswoman Carolyn Castel said. Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly have recently revised agreements with wholesalers and distributors to prevent diversion of their medicines to a "secondary market" of wholesalers, spokesmen for the companies said. Drug makers are worried that the secondary market, in which wholesalers buy and sell medicines to each other, provides a way for fake medicines to enter the supply chain. Serono, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly all said they would provide information to the committee. Officials at GlaxoSmithKline did not immediately return a call seeking comment. The FDA also is considering ways to combat drug counterfeits. An internal agency task force is scheduled to provide recommendations this year.