World News
US FDA accuses Ranbaxy Laboratories of fraud, concealment and selling substandard drugs
The United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has accused India's largest generics drug maker, Ranbaxy Laboratories, of forging and concealing documents relating to an investigation into the quality of the company's drugs sold in the US market and has filed a motion in the district court of Maryland seeking documents from the Indian…
[...]A prescription for strong medicine
The Internet is increasingly used as a virtual stand-in for the street-corner drug dealer. Highly addictive medications are just a mouse click away as rogue pharmacies take up residence online and are willing to supply drugs to anyone with a credit card. A just-released report found 85 percent of Web sites selling controlled substances do…
[...]Most drug Web sites breaking federal law
A large majority of 365 Internet sites that advertise or sell controlled medications by mail are offering to supply the drugs without a proper prescription, according to a new study. The online trade is stoking the rising abuse of addictive and dangerous prescription drugs, the authors and federal officials say. Drugs offered online include generic…
[...]Study finds addictive drugs easily ordered online
New Report Highlights Concern Over Growing Problem of Counterfeit Drugs in the EU
The proliferation of counterfeit drugs on the global market and easy availability via online pharmacies is an increasing problem. The makers of counterfeit drugs have enjoyed and profited from loopholes in a system designed to deliver healthy medicines to those in need. The rising cost of prescription medications and the ubiquitous presence of online and…
[...]Customs officers destroy tonne of fake-brand medicines
Virginia cracks down on counterfeiters
WASHINGTON – It's not exactly Elliot Ness and "The Untouchables," but Virginia is now much tougher on counterfeiters. If you're caught with 100 or more counterfeit items worth $200 or more, you face the prospect of a felony conviction, which carries a prison sentence of up to five years. By Hank Silverberg 2 July 2008…
[...]Prescription drug ring bust
PRICHARD, Ala. — Prichard Police are slamming the door on a prescription drug ring responsible for more than 300 fake prescriptions. "For the city of Prichard, this is the first one that we've encountered that has the magnitude that we normally see when we're dealing with cocaine and marijuana," said Prichard Police Chief Lawrence Battiste…
[...]Woman dies after buying banned slimming pills on the internet
A young woman desperate to lose weight died in agony a day after taking a lethal dose of a banned fat-burning drug she bought over the internet. Selena Walrond, who weighed 15st and was 5ft 3in tall, was so obsessed with being slim that she took five times the recommended daily dose. By Rebecca Camber27…
[...]Fake erectile dysfunction drugs flooding Vancouver
Police and customs agencies are intercepting frequent shipments of counterfeit erectile dysfunction drugs coming into Canada through Vancouver, an RCMP expert attempting to rein in the illegal industry said Monday. Some of the counterfeit drugs are as much as 50-per-cent stronger than the genuine product, said Cpl. Norm Massie of the RCMP’s Border Integrity Program.…
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