Counterfeit Drugs and Their Sale Online During the Pandemic

Information and Communication Technologies have transformed our society. Their influence has spread to all areas of modern life, affecting the pharmaceutical industry immensely, from global inventory organization to the direct point of sale of their products. Additionally, the Internet has also simultaneously provided a new way for criminals to access and profit from counterfeit drugs and medications. To this end, the European Union has made a remarkable effort to fight and control this complex challenge. The end result has been the development of the European Medicines Verification System. Currently, as a result of the pandemic generated by SARS-CoV-2 (covid-19), we are witnessing the adaptability of the counterfeit drugs market, and its remarkable capacity to develop drugs, and even counterfeit vaccines, negatively affecting the global battle against covid-19.