September 9, 2024: A Mexican pharmacy sold a Texas man a known Ozempic counterfeit
Major Stories
Reuters writes about fake Ozempic and medicine tracking. The U.S. FDA issues warnings about supplements that contain undeclared prescription medicine.
A Reuters article about fake Ozempic recounted the experience of a Texas man who bought counterfeit Ozempic from a Mexican pharmacy. The product he received— a relabeled insulin pen—bore a batch number the World Health Organization warned about in July 2023. These specific counterfeits have turned up in at least 10 countries, and harmed people in Iraq, Lebanon, Serbia, the U.K. and the U.S.
The piece delves into how criminals forge medicine batch numbers to sell counterfeit medicine and the different approaches countries have taken to curb the sale of the fakes. Regulators in several countries have banned drugs bearing the fake batch number, but others, including Finland, Ireland, Sweden, and the U.K. have not. Irish regulators issued an alert to wholesalers to be vigilant; U.K. regulators, whose alert focused on visual differences between real Ozempic pens and the fakes, said that banning batch numbers risked causing medicine shortages.
Images of the original and a counterfeit version of the drug Ozempic shared by Germany's Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned U.S. residents not to purchase or use Umary and Amazy products, marketed as dietary supplements because they contain undeclared diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory, and omeprazole, which treats acid reflux. The products have been sold on various websites, including Amazon, and in some retail stores.
The agency also warned MexHealth LLC and Everymarket Inc for selling dietary supplements adulterated with prescription drug ingredients: diclofenac and methocarbamol, dexamethasone and chlorpheniramine.
Domestic News
A Massachusetts man was sentenced for his role in a fentanyl pill manufacturing scheme.
Angel Morales of Stoughton, Massachusetts received a federal prison sentence of more than 12 years for his part in a large-scale pill press operation that manufactured, sold and mailed counterfeit pills, including pills containing fentanyl between September 2022 and November 2022.
Visit PSM's pill press page to see pill press seizures since January 2023.
International News
A counterfeit supplement in India. Fake cancer drugs in Nigeria.
In India, Telangana Drugs Control Administration warned about a counterfeit batch of D-Calcium Pantothenate, a widely used supplement.
A group of cancer survivors in Nigeria urged Nigeria’s Ministry of Health to address drug shortages and increase regulation of the medicine supply. Cancer patients in Nigeria are often forced to seek treatment from unreliable sources because of drug shortages.
Telegana regulators shared this image of fake D-Calcium Pantothenate.