Pfizer celebrate after counterfeiter loses assets
Pfizer are celebrating after winning the right to seize the assets of a businessman who sold counterfeit Viagra.
The decision to sue Martin Hickman in a trademark infringement lawsuit was the first trial of a new approach Pfizer are taking to counterfeit sales of the popular erectile dysfunction medication. He was sentenced to three months in jail in 2007 for ignoring orders to stop advertising Viagra and other impotence medications on his website, but the company felt that the short jail term was not enough to discourage him, and other counterfeiters like him, from continuing their illegal practices.
Hickman made millions peddling what he claimed was genuine Viagra, amassing property and jewels. He bought a beachside house in Spain, a flat in London and expensive watches.
Three years ago, Pfizer launched their lawsuit, an indication that they are getting tough on counterfeiters. Eventually, Pfizer won permission from the High Court in London not only to freeze his assets, but to raid his home and office. They settled out-of-court, with Hickman agreeing to pay the company £1 million.
Pfizer have hired former customs officials, drugs experts and law-enforcement agents to track down criminals offering fake Viagra online, and say that since 2004 they have prevented over 58 million counterfeit pills from reaching consumers. They often work with their rivals Eli Lilly, who manufacture Cialis, as Cialis is also frequently sold illegally.
Hickman has since been sentenced to two years in jail, after pleading guilty to 6 counts of selling and supplying fake or unlicensed medications and money laundering. The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority are now themselves taking action to seize his assets.
Pfizer’s Chief Security Officer, described the successful lawsuit as a ‘new way of doing business for Pfizer’. He said, “”The point is to make them realise that there’s no sense from a business perspective in counterfeiting our products, because if we find you, we’re taking your money away,”
Viagra is one of the most widely counterfeited medications in the world and the internet has been heavily responsible for the boom in illegal sales. Many men are too embarrassed to visit their doctor about erectile dysfunction problems, and criminals have made good use of this, purporting to sell genuine Viagra without a doctor’s prescription. Consumers are often unaware that when buying Viagra online without checking the credentials of the company, they are at risk of purchasing counterfeit products which can put their health at risk.
Jeff Kindler, chief executive for the drug company said of the firms new strategy to deter counterfeiters, “As long as there are people in the world who think they can make money by putting other people’s lives at risk, this is a clear and present danger.”
About the Author: Andres Hudson is freelance writer. Who has written Article on Viagra. For more information about viagra, he recommends you to visit http://www.theonlineclinic.co.uk/
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