The international pharmaceutical industry this week released a policy statement targeting counterfeit medicines on the internet. Among the recommendations was for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to join the fight.

At the same time, the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies was launched in the United States, aimed at taking down illegal internet pharmacies. More information about the CSIP is available here.

Four research-based industry associations joined together to issue a joint policy statement on counterfeits online.

The groups are the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA), Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), and Japanese Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA).

The groups showed support for governments, law enforcement, the private sector and any others, working to stop counterfeit medicines.

And they said, “We call upon [ICANN], which oversees the assignment of generic top level domains and accredits domain registrars, to take appropriate actions and ensure accountability measures in order to protect Internet users from illegitimate online sites that are engaged in the illicit sale of prescription medicines.”

Up till now, ICANN has been explicitly considered to be a technical oversight body with no policy authority.

But the stakes are high, industry says. “Everybody is at risk of counterfeiting,” said Eduardo Pisani, IFPMA director general. “Counterfeiting is a crime against patients and poses a public health risk that can lead to treatment resistance, extended illness, disability and even death.”