According to an official with Interpol, $1,000 in seed money to start up the manufacturing of counterfeit prescription drugs can lead to potential revenue of $450,000.

In comparison, $1,000 invested into producing heroin will lead to $20,000 in revenue.

Source: “Fake prescription drugs surpass heroin earnings,” San Francisco Choricle, July 11, 2010.

Between 2007 and 2010, pharmaceutical company Pfizer has spent $3.3 million on legal fees and investigations into preventing the counterfeiting of Viagra.

From 2004 to 2010, the company has seized about 58 million counterfeit Viagra pills from reaching the public.

Source: Simeon Bennett, “Pfizer: Civil Suits for Drug Counterfeiters,” Bloomberg BusinessWeek, July 8, 2010.

The counterfeit drug market in India is valued at $250 Million per year.

Source:  UNODC, “The Globalization of Crime,” Chapter 8: Counterfeit Products, June 2010.

The counterfeit drugs industry is estimated to be worth $200 Billion a year.

The sales of counterfeit drugs kills up to 10,000 Africans each year and creates 2 to 5 percent tax losses for governments around the world.

Source:  John Irish, “Customs group to fight $200 bln bogus drug industry,” Reuters, June 10, 2010.

In 2009, there were more than 2,000 incidents of people getting sick or dying from taking counterfeit medicines.

Source:  Vidushi Sinha, “Counterfeit Medicines Grow as Global Threat,” Voice of America, June 7, 2010.

In 2009, law enforcement agencies in the United States handled 2,003 cases of counterfeit drugs and medicines, a tenfold increase from the number of cases in 2003.

Source:  Isaac Wolf, “Terrorist groups funding operations with counterfeit goods,” Scripps News, June 4, 2010.

In 2009, there were 1,693 confirmed incidents of counterfeit medicines around the world, an increase of 7 percent from the previous year.

Source: “Counterfeit drugs on rise, pose global threat–WHO,” Reuters, May 19, 2010.

Up to 90 percent of all products available for purchase in retail markets in Vietnam is believed to be counterfeit.

In addition, 47 percent of all pharmaceutical drugs and cosmetics sold in Hanoi are counterfeit.

Source: “It’s easier to buy counterfeit than real goods,” Vietnam.net, May 19, 2010.

In 2008, authorities in Israel reported 78 cases of counterfeit drugs within the country.

The 78 cases of fake drugs represented $26 Million (100 Million Israeli Shekels).

Source: Ronny Linder-Ganz, “Israel ranks high in counterfeit pharmaceutical trade ,” Haaretz, July 17, 2009.

According to a survey done by pharmaceutical company Pfizer, 38 percent of Germans surveyed admitted to purchasing drugs without a prescription from black market sites online, the highest level in all of Europe.

Source:  “Kent laboratory finds growing counterfeit drugs market,” BBC News, February 17, 2010.