Can Europe clamp down on counterfeit medicine?

To clamp down on counterfeit medicines entering the supply chain, a UK database of internet pharmacies authorised to sell medicines is being proposed.
Each EU member state is being asked to establish its own online national database of approved internet pharmacies. Each website will be required to have a link to the database, and will also have to display a common EU-approved logo to show that it is entitled to supply medicines.
Pharmacies offering licensed medicines and dispensing services online will be subject to the new rules. The rules will also apply to retailers, including supermarkets that sell medicinal products (non prescription-only medicines) online.
The proposed changes are outlined in a consultation document from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regularity Agency, seeking comments on its proposals for how the recent EU Falsified Medicines Directive will be adopted into UK legislation by 2 January 2013.