If you were to ask a member of the public “what is the world’s most counterfeited product?”, it’s highly likely they’ll say designer handbags or watches. But, in fact, the world’s largest fraud market is pharmaceuticals – and by a large margin. The larger the industry supplying a consumer product, the more likely it is that criminals will try and exploit it. And with counterfeit and falsified medicine, the profits can be huge. But so too can the risks to public health and the industry’s reputation. Rich Quelch at Origin explains why this risk is growing, accelerated by the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, complex global supply chains, widening access to healthcare in emerging economies and the rise of pharmaceutical e-commerce.