Grey market (revision 2)
Old revision·04:46, 11 Dec 2024·ColdChainCleo
| Grey market | |
|---|---|
| Definition | Trade outside authorised channels in genuine goods |
| Distinct from | Counterfeit trade in non-genuine goods |
| Key issue | Provenance and handling history, not identity |
| Topic infobox · conventions | |
The grey market is trade in genuine goods outside the channels a manufacturer has authorised. It is distinguished from counterfeit trade by the goods being what they claim to be; what is irregular is the route, not the article. See Counterfeit peptide.[1]
For research chemicals the term is used loosely, since much of the market operates without authorised channels in the first place. It is most meaningful where a licensed product exists and material is traded outside its distribution system, or where material intended for one use is diverted to another.[2]
How goods leave authorised channels
[edit]Diversion occurs at several points: material sold for one purpose and resold for another, quantities in excess of a customer's use resold onward, or stock from one territory sold into another where prices differ.[2]
Each of these leaves the goods genuine and the records incomplete. A parallel-imported medicine is the most familiar example and is lawful in some jurisdictions; unrecorded onward sale of research reagents is a less regulated analogue of the same structure.
References
- ^ PeptidePedia Wiki community test-report tally, 2024–2026 (self-reported; see Project:Sourcing guidelines).
- ^ a b International Council for Harmonisation, Q7: Good Manufacturing Practice Guide for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (2000).