"But quality assessment is the first step in the process, and here Nigeria is also leading the way, by field-testing the use of lightweight, battery-powered handheld spectrometers which can identify substandard products in under 10 seconds. These devices are easy to use, and while they cannot replace more precise laboratory techniques, their use can help drug regulatory authorities screen out many bad products and provide enough evidence to launch more comprehensive investigations, says Dr Bate."
Dr Bate has also called on the Chinese government to increase its penalties for counterfeiters, which are currently as low as 100-4,000 yuan. The country’s legal mechanism for prosecuting counterfeiters needs restructuring, its intellectual property regime must be tightened and regulators should be given the necessary resources and authority to able to independently investigate reported cases of counterfeiting – with or without the company’s cooperation, he says.
However, he also notes the significance of the counterfeiting industry for China’s economy, with as many as five million of the country’s citizens estimated to be in the business of fake drugs and patent and trademark infringements. Dr Bate quotes Li Guorong, general manager of the China United Intellectual Property Protection Center, as warning that radical action against counterfeiters “would crash the economy overnight” and even “destabilize a government where counterfeit factories and warehouses are often owned by local military and political grandees."
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