Policy/Enforcement News
Things we learned from sending a Freedom of Information Act request to Florida’s healthcare agency implementing importation
PSM filed comments recently with the state of Florida’s healthcare agency that’s attempting to make the mess of Canadian drug importation work after the legislature passed it without any serious scrutiny. After we filed comments, we subsequently filed a request to see who else filed comments and we’re left now with more questions than answers.…
[...]New Analysis by HDA Finds Importation Proposals Are Too Expensive and Pose Health Risks to Patients
A report just released the HDA Research Foundation demonstrates that federal importation proposals to allow drug importation are devoid of practical implementation guidance and funding, so will fail to guarantee federal safety and quality standards for prescription medication.
[...]New Jersey Legislature Works to Increase Penalties for Drug Counterfeiters
In June, the New Jersey Assembly passed A-5037, a bill that increases penalties for those who create, distribute or administer counterfeit, adulterated or misbranded medical drugs and devices. The legislation, which has been sent to the New Jersey Senate’s Budget and Appropriations Committee, would make the sale of more than 100 units of fake medicine punishable by a sentence of five to ten years, a fine of up to $150,000, or both.
[...]New York District Attorney Indicts Major Online Drug Fake Xanax and Illicit Drug Seller
The office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. announced the largest counterfeit pill seizure in New Jersey history this month. In addition to large quantities of other illicit drugs, between 420,000 and 620,000 counterfeit Xanax were discovered during the arrest and search of Chester Anderson, Jarrette Codd, and Ronald MacCarty for their alleged role in selling $2.3 million worth of illicit drugs via the internet.
[...]Senators Cassidy, Hassan, Kustoff and Kuster Reintroduce Pill Press Legislation, The STEER Act
The proposed legislation, H.R. 6554, will require that anyone who owns, purchases or imports pill press must be registered them with the U.S. Attorney General.
[...]Newly Launched Federal Task Force Finds Fake Xanax and Botox in First Week of Operation at Michigan Ports of Entry
The Detroit branch of the newly launched Global Trade Task Force (GTTF) has found counterfeit medications amongst the $1 million worth of counterfeit goods seized during one week. The seizures occurred at the Detroit Metro Airport, and the Port Huron Blue Water Bridge ports of entry.
[...]U.S. FDA Issues A Warning Letter to Canadian “International Prescription Service Provider” CanaRx
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter to CanaRx, a company that acts as a broker between the foreign pharmacies and the employer-sponsored health insurance plan to provide prescription drugs to their employees. The letter states that CanaRx has been selling unapproved and misbranded drugs to U.S. citizens…
[...]Keeping The Drug Supply Chain Safe Keeps Patients Safe
In a statement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. discussed the agency’s continuing efforts to combat the spread of illicit opioids and to ensure the security of America’s drug supply chain. Included in their recent efforts, Commissioner Gottlieb noted that the agency has stepped up enforcement and interdiction work at International Mail Facilities and shut down websites illegally selling potentially dangerous, unapproved, and misbranded versions of opioid medications to U.S. citizens…
[...]Former FBI Director Louis Freeh Updates His 2017 Report on the Threat of Congressional Drug Importation Proposals
Former FBI Director Louis Freeh has released an addendum to his 2017 Report on the Potential Impact of Drug Importation Proposals on U.S. Law Enforcement, concluding:
…the government has not done enough to evaluate and improve the capacity of law enforcement to deal with a new pipeline of drugs into the U.S. drug supply, all while . . . more illegal drugs are being shipped to the United States. Passing any drug importation scheme would erase the little progress we have made and set law enforcement further back on their heels.
[...]Major Cases From U.S. FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations In Fiscal Year 2018
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations has worked thousands of cases since its inception in 1991. With a new fiscal year just starting for them, PSM took a look back at progress made by some of the investigations they have been involved in over the past year…
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