By Jim Fulcher

In a joint statement addressing Internet sales of, and access to, safe medicines, pharmaceutical industry groups IFPMA, PhRMA, EFPIA, and JPMA note that they are united in efforts to protect patients’ safety. The groups are, they explain, committed to promoting access to safe and efficacious medicines, advocating for robust patient education and awareness, and combating unsafe medicines, including those sold by illegitimate online drug sellers that circumvent laws, regulations, and pharmacy standards put in place to protect patients and their health. …

I was interested to see that the groups support and encourage voluntary and cooperative efforts by the private sector to reduce illegal sales of medicines by illegitimate online drug sellers. They note that it is essential for businesses—including Internet service providers, Internet domain registrars, advertising brokers, payment processors, and search engine operators—to work collaboratively to identify best practices and advocate policy solutions aimed at combating illegal online drug sellers that endanger public health.

With that in mind, the groups welcome, in particular, the voluntary decision taken by Google, Go Daddy, and several other companies to form a U.S.-based nonprofit organization, the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP), to take voluntary steps to aid law enforcement, educate the public, and share information related to illegitimate online drug sellers that endanger the public health. The groups encourage CSIP to achieve proclaimed objectives, including creating codes of conduct and best practices that can serve as a model to others and help reduce the growing number of illegitimate online drug sellers.

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