World News
Can you tell which pills are fake?
At a time when more people are looking to save money on prescription drugs, their exposure to counterfeit drugs is rising, says Pfizer's head of counterfeit intelligence. Phony medicines are increasingly making it across U.S. borders, often via Internet sales, and creating a threat to consumer safety, says John Theriault, a former FBI agent who…
[...]Fake Lipitor lingers in supply chain
Fake Lipitor lingers in supply chain The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has reissued its safety warning after it was discovered that a recall in July 2005 of batch 004405K1 of Lipitor 20mg tablets had left some fake tablets with pharmacists. These tablets contain lovastatin as an active ingredient as opposed to…
[...]Parents press China for answer to bad, fake drugs
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Cradled in her mother's arms, tiny Liang Jiayi stares blankly. Foam begins to flow from her mouth and her lifeless body suddenly goes into a spasm. "She's cramping," her father Liang Yongli cries out as he and his wife massage the contorted limbs of the five-year-old. Jiayi used to be lively…
[...]Member of International Internet Drug
Special Agent in Charge James M. Kasson announced today that Sanseev Srivastan was found guilty July 17, 2006 on all counts for his involvement in an international Internet pharmacy network that imported and distributed millions of dollars worth of non-controlled and controlled drugs into the United States from India. The jury deliberated for only two…
[...]Consumer Rights Watchdog: 30% of drugs counterfeit in Russia
MOSCOW. July 20 (Interfax) – The drug market ought to be regulated strictly by the state, said Alexander Kalinin, director general of the Consumer Rights Protection National Foundation. "The market of drugs, medical substances [raw material used for the production of medicines] ought to have strict principles, forms and methods of state regulation," Kalinin said…
[...]State Council meets on energy, fake drug, mine accident
BEIJING, July 19 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao presided over an executive meeting of the State Council Wednesday, which passed in principle a resolution on the issue of energy saving and approved punitive measures in handling a major fake drug case and a deadly coal mine explosion. The resolution, entitled "State Council Resolution on…
[...]Counterfeit drugs and border security
On March 29, the federal Joint Terrorism Task Force unsealed an indictment charging 19 persons with operating a global crime and terrorism ring spanning Lebanon, Canada, China, Brazil, Paraguay and the United States. The ring sold counterfeit drugs and other contraband materials, largely through direct consumer shipment from Canada, to Americans seeking cheaper drugs. It,…
[...]UK finds further fake packs of Pfizer drug Lipitor
LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) – British authorities have found more counterfeit packs of Pfizer Inc's (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) blockbuster cholesterol pill Lipitor in the legitimate supply chain, highlighting the risk posed by fake drugs, officials said on Wednesday. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency first seized fake packs of the medicine in July…
[...]National Assembly to Boost NAFDAC’s Activities
Senate President Ken Nnamani says the National Assembly is working on laws that will support and enhance the activities of NAFDAC. Nnamani disclosed this at the weekend in Awka when the Anambra State Government hosted NAFDAC Director General NAFDAC Dora Akunyili to honour her for the award she bagged from the New York-based Times Magazines.…
[...]Analysis: Lawmakers lax on counterfeiting
WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) — The problem of drug counterfeiting is taking on crisis proportions, health-policy experts said late last week, but U.S policymakers are not giving the issue the attention it deserves. 'They just don`t get it, and I don`t think it`s possible for us to walk away from this and say `just…
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