Pharmacies in India are selling generic copies of Western medicines at a fraction of the price charged by Western pharmacies. Indian law allows the production of generic copies of medicines that have patent protection in the West. However, importing them into Finland is illegal.
Finnish customs officials fear that the opening of direct flights between Helsinki and Delhi could lead to a surge in imports of the banned medicines. Pharmaceuticals produced in India have already established themselves as some of the hottest sellers on Internet-based pharmacies. Helsingin Sanomat visited three Indian cities and found that pharmacies there sold Indian versions at prices that were between 94 and 98 percent less than what the original patented versions cost at Finnish pharmacies.
For instance, an Indian-made copy of an erectile dysfunction medicine was sold for just 60 cents a pill. In Finland the same medicine costs 15 euros.
Helsingin Sanomat also found that pharmacies in Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai would sell the prescription medicines without a prescription.
Some travellers from Delhi have already been caught for illegally bringing in prescription drugs. However, most confiscations of medicines produced in India involve pills ordered via the Internet.
"Erectile dysfunction medicines constitute about 80 per cent of the products that are confiscated", says Mika Pitkäniemi head of passenger customs at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
Pitkäniemi, who recently came back from a visit to India, said that he fears that increased passenger traffic to India could broaden the selection of illegal drug imports to psychoactive drugs.
