August 5, 2024: Fight the Fakes’ paper looks at how to combat substandard and counterfeit medicine
Major Stories
White paper examines how to combat substandard and fake medicines.
Fight the Fakes released a white paper examining the growing global issue of substandard and counterfeit medication. The policy recommendations made by the alliance, of which PSM is a member, included expanding education and awareness of the issue, increased collaboration between countries, and improving domestic policies, programs, and capabilities.
Domestic News
Men sentenced in VA and UT for misbranded drugs. Small study shows the dangers of purchasing semaglutide online.
Image of fake cure sold by Utah man. Source: DOJ
Results from a new small study looking into the purchasing of semaglutide online without a prescription had researchers either receive vials with safety issues or be the victims of scammers demanding more money.
A Virginia man received a two-year federal prison sentence for selling a variety of misbranded injectable medicines that he sourced from companies in India and China to U.S. patients.
A Utah man, who posed as a doctor, received a three-year prison sentence for scamming patients with bogus treatments he claimed could cure a variety of ailments.
A Rhode Island man pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a counterfeit pill trafficking ring. Police seized two industrial pill presses while executing a search warrant in February 2022.
Police seized a pill press while executing a search warrant at two residences in Greenwood, South Carolina.
The U.S. Department of Justice released a fact sheet outlining multiple actions taken by the agency to respond to the threat posed to the nation by fentanyl and other synthetic drugs.
International News
Law enforcement in Ukraine disrupts a counterfeit medicine trafficking ring.
Police in Ukraine disrupted a gang importing counterfeit medicine made in Russia and Belarus via Poland.
While searching a home as part of a robbery investigation in the U.K., police in Brixham uncovered a drug lab and seized a pill press.
Public health officials in the Philippines warned consumers there about a counterfeit version of paracetamol, a popular over-the-counter medicine that treats fevers.
Police officer in Ukraine examining seized medicine. Source: Ukrainian National Police