Partnership for Safe Medicines Applauds Public Health Alert on Fake Online Pharmacies
Washington, D.C. (July 28, 2011) – Bryan A. Liang, MD, PhD, JD, vice president of the Partnership for Safe Medicines, a non-profit dedicated to curbing counterfeit drugs, today issued the following statement on the public health alert issued today by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy regarding the widespread prevalence of fake online pharmacies.
“NABP’s latest report and decision to issue a public health alert make clear that fake online pharmacies pose a very serious threat to the health and safety of Americans. We are particularly concerned that fake pharmacies provide a channel through which criminals sell counterfeit and tainted products and threaten the safety of our drug supply and the well being of people who rely on medicines for their health. Fortunately, the U.S. has strong laws and agencies that protect the safety of our medicines, ensuring that the American drug supply is among the safest in the world. Policy makers must be aware of the very real threats posed by fake online pharmacies and counterfeiters operating largely outside our country so that the efforts to combat counterfeit and unsafe medicines globally are coordinated, and that policies do not jeopardize our domestic, safe drug supply. The closed drug system in the United States is critical to maintaining the highest quality medicines to all Americans.”
To view the full report, please visit www.nabp.net/programs/consumer-protection/buying-medicine-online.
About PSM:
Comprised of more than 60 non-profit organizations, the Partnership for Safe Medicines is a public health group committed to the safety of prescription medicines and protecting consumers against counterfeit, substandard or otherwise unsafe medicines. PSM can be found on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/SafeMedicines), Twitter (@safemedicines), and the web at www.safemedicines.org.
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