Counterfeit pharmaceuticals are big business globally. According to the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations:

• It costs an average of $1.5 million to bring a new drug to market.
• The time it takes is about 12-13 years on average.
• Only one in 10,000 synthesized chemicals makes it to consumers.

It is no wonder that the pharmaceutical industry is the most targeted sector by cybercriminals looking to profit from a global demand for prescription drugs. Experts estimate the sale of counterfeit drugs is growing at twice the rate of legitimate pharmaceuticals and is more lucrative today than narcotics. In order to effectively market counterfeit pharmaceuticals online, cyber criminals need not only the IP but all data related to the production, storage, distribution, and consumer profiles of branded medications and vaccines.

An article published in the Financial Post (Canada) by Kristina Acri suggests counterfeit pharmaceuticals pose a significant threat to humans who seek to obtain prescribed and in some cases, life-saving, medications at a lower cost or within regions where supply is limited. Counterfeit drugs may contain no or the wrong concentration of active ingredients, harmful ingredients, the wrong dosage recommendations or are past their expiry dates, resulting in reduced treatment effectiveness, unexpected side-effects and potentially death.

According to Proofpoint researchers, 67 percent of overall highly targeted malware and phishing attacks among the biopharma industry were directed at lower-level management, tricking them into giving up data or to transfer money, via spoofing email addresses of known contacts or high-profile company executives often housed on personal smartphones.

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Articles used for reference: Source 1, Source 2 and Source 3