US Fake Medicine Cases Increased Year Over Year
The FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations reported that 72 cases had been opened up in 2010, 11% more than the year before, and at 3-5 times what was reported a decade ago.
Reports Pharmaceutical Commerce, Deputy Administrator Dr. Ilisa Bernstein cited those figures during a presentation for the Pew Prescription Project in Washington, DC in early March.
The FDA cautions that the increase in case load is a measure of FDA activity as well as an increase in fake drug distribution. However, the case load has increased every year for the past three and is at 3-5 times what was reported a decade ago. Counterfeit medicine crimes have ranged from a pharmacist relabeling expired product to an international crime ring importing pallets of counterfeit medicines. In addition, new crimes have included breaks in the “normal chain of distribution.”
“Counterfeiting is like water pressure,” commented Allan Coukell, a Pew Prescription Project director, during the meeting. “It will find a way in.”