I remember some years ago, a friend was telling me how the latest strains of malaria have developed a resistance to drugs that were effective in the past.
Google "counterfeit malaria drugs" for more exact info, but the jist of it is this:
People were selling fake anti-malaria drugs so companies developed test measures to ensure the drugs were legit. Drug counterfeiters in turn started to add just enough of the real drug to pass the tests. Well, just like how we develop vaccines for our own bodies, the counterfeiters had created one for malaria in its fight against anti-malaria drugs.
I guess in some ways this relates to the article, because if there was not a good profit in counterfeit drugs, the people doing it would move on. I feel this is one facet of the story that the author missed out on, but perhaps avoided because it is a bit too sensational