Pharmaceutical Security Institute Partnership

RNS Number : 4257E
Brandshield Systems PLC
11 March 2022
 

11 March 2022

 

BrandShield Systems plc

 

("BrandShield," the "Company," or the "Group")

 

Partnership with the Pharmaceutical Security Institute

 

BrandShield successfully removes 850 rogue online pharmacies and 14,000

 fraudulent drug listings on marketplaces over last 12 months

 

BrandShield Systems plc (AIM: BRSD), a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions for brand oriented digital risk protection, is pleased to announce its findings following a disruption programme that was carried out together with the Pharmaceutical Security Institute ("PSI") from December 2020 to November 2021, involving the monitoring, detecting, and removal of online threats.

 

Over the 12-month period, BrandShield took down over 850 rogue pharmacies across websites and social media, 4,000 social media posts, and more than 14,000 fraudulent marketplace listings, where a minimum estimated value of $1.8 million of counterfeits was removed. The report highlights the extent of global criminal fraud targeting both innocent patients and pharmaceutical companies.

 

The listings that were removed contained medicines relating to cancer, diabetes, asthma, Covid-19, and Alzheimer's among others. Between December 2020 and November 2021, BrandShield analysed and removed several rogue pharmacies.

 

BrandShield's analysis of social media platforms compared reported instances of pharmaceutical crime to the number of illegal posts removed. The report looked at marketplaces and online social platforms with over 100 reported fake listings. A popular social media platform stood out as the least compliant with only 33% of reported fraud removed, nearly two times less compliant than the other platforms reviewed. Indonesian marketplaces topped the list with the most sites removed, followed by India and the Philippines.

 

Marketplace Listing Removals by Country 

 

● Indonesia (13,395)

● India (566)

● Philippines (171)

● Malaysia (135)

● Singapore (120)

 

Yoav Keren, Chief Executive Officer of BrandShield, commented:

 

"Criminal fraudsters and scammers posing as reputable pharma companies are a major public health risk for the millions across the globe who are in the market looking for products to treat a range of life-threatening diseases."

 

"In our work with PSI, we are taking the fight back to not only detect dubious online sellers but also remove these threats as they happen. Such a proactive approach ensures that patients are protected from further harm."

 

C. Todd Ratcliffe, President and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Security Institute, added:

 

"BrandShield was a natural selection as a vendor for us thanks to their proven takedown capabilities. They expeditiously neutralised growing threats, especially across platforms and in regions where patients are most vulnerable.

 

"It's clear that criminal counterfeiters and fraudsters are an increasing threat to our members and their patients, and we're emboldened by BrandShield's technology and takedown capabilities to minimise the risk they pose to public health and patient safety."

 

For questions related to findings in the report, please email brandshield@vsc.co.

 

 

Enquiries:

 

BrandShield Systems plc

Yoav Keren, CEO

 

 

+44 (0)20 3143 8300

Spark Advisory Partners Limited (Nominated Adviser)

Neil Baldwin / Andrew Emmott / James Keeshan

 

+44 (0)20 3368 3554

Shore Capital (J oint Broker)

Toby Gibbs / James Thomas (Corporate Advisory)

Henry Willcocks (Corporate Broking)

 

 

+44 (0)20 7408 4090

Tennyson Securities (Joint Broker)

Peter Krens

 

+44 (0)20 3368 3554

Vigo Consulting (Financial Public Relations)

Jeremy Garcia / Antonia Pollock / Kendall Hill

brandshield@vigoconsulting.com

+44 (0)20 7390 0237

 

About BrandShield

BrandShield is a leading cybersecurity company founded in Israel by cybersecurity experts that protect the world's largest brands and consumers from phishing attacks, online fraud, and other online threats posed by dangerous cybercriminals. Through its AI/ML platform, BrandShield identifies, tracks, and eliminates online threats for global brands and organizations, including Bristol Myers Squibb, Levi's, NewBalance, Swisscom, and the Pharmaceutical Security Institute. BrandShield is quoted on the London Stock Exchange AIM under ticker symbol BRSD. To learn more about BrandShield, please visit the company website at   www.BrandShield.com .

 

About Pharmaceutical Security Institute

Pharmaceutical Security Institute is a non-profit trade association comprised of security directors from thirty-nine international research pharmaceutical manufacturers. PSI's principal mission is to address the problem of counterfeiting, illegal diversion and major theft of pharmaceutical products to protect patient safety. PSI's principal activities include the collection, analysis and dissemination of intelligence related to these criminal acts globally.

 

About Reach announcements

Reach is an investor communication service aimed at assisting listed and unlisted (including AIM quoted) companies to distribute media only / non-regulatory news releases such as marketing messages, corporate and product information into the public domain. An RNS Regulatory announcement is required to be notified under the AIM Rules for Companies.

 

This information is provided by Reach, the non-regulatory press release distribution service of RNS, part of the London Stock Exchange. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

Reach is a non-regulatory news service. By using this service an issuer is confirming that the information contained within this announcement is of a non-regulatory nature. Reach announcements are identified with an orange label and the word “Reach” in the source column of the News Explorer pages of London Stock Exchange’s website so that they are distinguished from the RNS UK regulatory service. Other vendors subscribing for Reach press releases may use a different method to distinguish Reach announcements from UK regulatory news.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.
 
END
 
 
NRAFBLLFLXLFBBB
UK 100