The 2,054 incidents occurring in CY 2010 involved 593 different pharmaceutical products. The number of products found in a single incident ranged from one drug to thirty-two different drugs. The number of therapeutic categories found in a single incident ranged from one to nine. PSI also found that pharmaceuticals in every therapeutic category are targeted by criminal organizations.
Mirroring earlier findings, CIS data revealed that medicines in the genito-urinary, anti-infectives and central nervous system therapeutic categories contained the largest number of incidents. These three categories were seen as having drugs which were the most frequently targeted by individuals engaged in pharmaceutical counterfeiting. This finding remains consistent with CY 2009 therapeutic category rankings.
But, while the ranking of the top three therapeutic categories were unchanged, the Institute has noted three therapeutic categories that have had a percentage increase on a year to year basis. Specifically, the metabolism therapeutic category led with the largest percentage increase at one hundred eighty-two percent (182%). Categories with the percentage increases also included cytostatic (+20%) and cardiovascular (+5%).
