The website, which advertises Viagra and other prescription drugs, also designed a fake certificate, complete with the forged signature of Filip Babylon, president of the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU).
The development comes as the European Parliament continues to debate the Counterfeit Medicines Directive, which MEPs want to use to target illegal online pharmacies.
Portuguese MEP Marisa Matias wants legitimate Internet chemists to carry an EU certification logo, but pharmacists are concerned that any new quality mark will simply be faked as soon as it is published.
"The idea that you can get around online counterfeiting through certification is quite difficult. An EU authenticity mark would be immediately faked. We would be asking patients to differentiate between genuine and forged logos," said John Chave, secretary-general of the PGEU.
He said some bootleggers have become highly sophisticated and have proven capable of reproducing high-resolution colour copies of logos. The PGEU wants national governments to be free to prohibit Internet pharmacies if they choose to do so.
Sophisticated forgery
The Cancer Care Pharmacy website, which claims to be a Canadian business registered in Russia, also carries a number of security certificates and a logo for business group.
Logos for delivery services FedEx, UPS, United States Postal Service, Canada Post and EMS have also been used, along with payment services Visa, American Express and ACH.
"All drugs sold […] are considered to be approved by the PGEU," the website claims on the fake certificate, which features the PGEU's mission statement.
The site says it has a strict anti-spam policy and that it is licensed by the College of Pharmacists of Ontario, Canada.
The discovery was made earlier this week when a member of the PGEU received a spam email message for the online pharmacy and noticed the apparent endorsement from the pharmacy group.
The site was taken down yesterday (20 May) just as the PGEU prepared to circulate a memo to members warning them about the forgery.
