In his new book, “Phake: The Deadly World of Falsified and Substandard Medicines,” Roger Bate explores the underground trade in illegal medicines that kills over 100,000 people per year and supplants billions of dollars of real products.

Every day patients receive treatments that do not work properly. For many this means no relief from symptoms, but for some death is the result. Yet concerted action against such products is limited. Before we can discuss why that's the case, I will attempt to explain what kind of products don’t work, and what we should call them.

There are many website pharmacies, including those from overseas, from which it is almost certainly safe to procure medicines, and U.S. consumers should be able to reduce their risk by relying on credentialing agencies recommended lists and by using common sense when examining packaging and pills.

Illegally copying a trademark is an important indicator of counterfeiting, although not necessarily of substandard drug quality.

While India is blamed for counterfeiting crucial drugs, a vast Chinese network behind the fakes is getting away.

India is on the brink of finalizing a free trade agreement with the European Union. Yet even as the deal gets close, one area remains hotly contested: protection for intellectual property (IP). Controversy mounts over "data exclusivity" for pharmaceuticals.

This study examines the price, conditions of purchase, and basic quality of five popular drugs purchased over the Internet.

Recent court decisions in India endanger drug investment.