CQ HealthBeat reports on the G8 Camp David Declaration, noting that in the statement, G8 leaders acknowledge the problem of counterfeit drugs. “‘To protect public health and consumer safety, we also commit to exchange information on rogue Internet pharmacy sites in accordance with national law and share best practices on combating counterfeit medical products,’ is the language in the declaration the leaders of some of the largest nations in the world agreed to over the weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat,” the news service writes. According to the Senate Judiciary Committee, “counterfeit drugs cause 100,000 deaths worldwide each year, and are responsible for about $75 billion in annual revenue for criminal operations,” CQ HealthBeat notes.

“According to officials at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), this is the first time the top leaders addressed this issue at one of their meetings,” the news service writes. In an interview with CQ HealthBeat, Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.) “said the fact that the G8 leaders mentioned this in their statement ‘is an affirmation of the importance of the issue and a recognition of two important impacts: safety as well as the economic implication of the counterfeit activity.'” Meehan added that the G8 statement “is a tremendous boost to our efforts to increase oversight,” the news service reports. CQ HealthBeat notes that “the Senate passed by voice vote a bipartisan bill (S 1886)” that would “increas[e] the penalties for trafficking in counterfeit drugs,” and Meehan “has introduced a companion measure (HR 3468) in the House that also has bipartisan support” (Bunis, 5/21).