News
Drug Distribution Experts Warn That State Plans To Import Foreign Drugs Will Undermine Safety
This editorial by Adam Fein and Dirk Rodgers was published in Stat News on July 11, 2019. In it, Fein and Rodgers warn that plans by states to create drug importation programs will open new pathways for counterfeit drugs to enter the U.S. drug supply chain…
[...]June Was a Dangerous Month in Arizona as Over 130,000 Fake Pills Made with Fentanyl Seized Throughout State
A series of eight different busts in Arizona this month has yielded approximately 132,000 counterfeit pills made with fentanyl, with seizures happening all across the Grand Canyon state.
[...]Importation Is An Opportunity For Organized Crime to Expand Counterfeit Drug Profits, DEA Veteran Says
This editorial by retired DEA agent Douglas Hebert was published in The Arizona Capital Times ,on June 27, 2019. In it, Hebert explains how drug importation programs will help organized crime expand their $200 billion-a-year counterfeit pharmaceutical industry into the U.S., at the expense of Americans.
[...]National Pharmacy Organizations Ask HHS Secretary Azar for Clarity on Drug Importation Proposals
On June 24, 2019, the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA), along with the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) wrote a joint letter to U.S. Health and Human Services (HSS) Secretary Alex Azar questioning the wisdom of poorly thought-out importation proposals.
[...]“Canada cannot act as a drugstore for the United States,” says academic
In this editorial, which was published by the Fraser Institute on June 13, 2019, economist Dr. Kristina Acri argues against importation, concluding: “Diverting drugs meant for Canadian patients to the U.S. through state importation schemes will create shortages for Canadian patients and increase pressure on potentially unscrupulous suppliers to source drugs from wherever they can, opening the door to counterfeiters.”
[...]2 Million Counterfeit Pills Found at Organization Sending Packages to US, Europe and Australia
On June 4, 2019, Laval police conducted a series of raids to bring down the ring that was making the counterfeit pills. 235 police officers searched 13 locations in Laval, Montreal and the communities that ring the north shore of Laval and Montreal islands. The raids have resulted in the arrest of eleven people.
[...]Florida man Convicted for Manufacturing and Selling Hundreds of Thousands of Counterfeit Oxycodone
On June 7, 2019, a federal jury found Dion Gregory Fisher, 33, of Seminole, FL, guilty of conspiring to manufacture and distribute fentanyl and fentanyl analogue, guilty of five counts of fentanyl distribution and manufacturing and eight counts of committing money laundering transactions involving more than $10,000 of narcotics proceeds.
[...]Peer-reviewed journal article estimates 300,000 child fatalities annually due to counterfeit medication
The Partnership for Safe Medicines and the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP Global), two public health advocacy groups focused on patient safety and the secure pharmaceutical supply chain, released an infographic today to call attention to the human toll that counterfeit medicines take on children in low and middle income countries.
[...]Federal Agents Break Up Large Counterfeit Pill Rings in Stockton and Newport Beach, California
Eight people in Stockton have been indicted after an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) of over 50 overdoses in the Sacramento area in 2016 that included 12 deaths. The Sacramento Bee reports that the large-scale counterfeit pill making operation in Stockton was turning out thousands of counterfeit prescription pills made with fentanyl, methamphetamine,…
[...]KANSAS: Pills Seized in October 2018 Were Counterfeits Testing Shows
Thirty-one light blue pills seized in a drug investigation were identified by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation as counterfeits made with fentanyl in the first week of June, 2019. The pills were marked with the markings of legitimate oxycodone. The Parson Sun reports that the pills were discovered in a Parsons, KS, motel room on…
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