An "epidemic" of counterfeit life-saving drugs has been spreading in Asia and Africa, according to world health experts. At least 200,000 people may die each year from these fakes, which are particularly problematic in malaria cases. The World Health Organization estimates that one fifth of the one million annual malaria deaths around the world would be prevented if medicines were genuine and administered properly. In a recent sampling in Southeast Asia, over half the anti-malarials bought were fakes, and the WHO estimates that one in four drug packets sold in the streets of developing countries is fake. Most of the counterfeit drugs originate in China, and they're often incredibly difficult to identify as fakes, since some of the drugs even bear the tiny hologram found on the genuine drug packaging to prevent forgery.

The Chinese government is apparently cracking down on counterfeiters and is currently investigating whether the former chief of China's Food and Drug Administration had taken bribes to approve drugs. Yet there seems to be a long way to go. According to David Fernyhough, a counterfeiting expert based in Hong Kong, the drug distribution networks mirror the old Southeast Asian heroin networks and "[t]he problem is simply so massive that no amount of enforcement is going to stop it." Moreover, the money being poured into developing regions for tackling malaria creates more incentives for producers of fakes, especially since most of these countries lack the capacity to detect sophisticated counterfeits. To make matters worse, often the penalties for forging consumer goods are harsher than the penalties for faking medicines, despite greater real-world consequences for the latter.