Counterfeit drugs seizures rose 24 percent worldwide in 2007, according to the Pharmaceutical Security Institute.

From Bloomberg:

Seizures of bogus prescription medicines jumped 24 percent to 1,513 incidents in 2007, and illicit versions of 403 different prescription drugs were confiscated in 99 countries, according to the Pharmaceutical Security Institute, a Vienna, Virginia-group funded by 26 drugmakers. The $3 billion in counterfeit drugs seized include generic copies that violate patent laws and products that lack active chemical ingredients or contain improper dosages.

In the decade since Internet sites began selling illegal copies of Pfizer Inc.’s erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, counterfeiters have diversified, marketing pills to treat heart disease, arthritis, asthma, AIDS and cancer, according to the institute, which has been monitoring product seizures since the group was formed in 2002.

Copies of 19 of the world’s 25 best-selling drugs were among those seized by industry security, customs agents and police last year at ports of entry, in free-trade zones or at illicit manufacturing and distribution sites, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.