Handout: Illegal ingredients linked to knockoff weight loss drugs pouring in from foreign sources

Compounded versions of GLP-1 injectable treatments for diabetes and obesity have surged in popularity despite a lack the safety and efficacy assurances. The FDA has warned that these knockoff versions sometimes contain illicit semaglutide or tirzepatide—the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in weight loss drugs. Working with George Karavetsos, former director of FDA’s Office of Criminal…

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Since 2015, fentanyl has changed the drug landscape

Counterfeit pills made with fentanyl have proliferated across the U.S. since 2015, killing people in all 50 states. The pills have become heavily trafficked, easier to find and more deadly.

This infographic shows how the fentanyl pill trade has changed.

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Criminal Internet Pharmacy Networks Are Capitalizing on COVID-19.

In May 2020, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) released Rogue Online Pharmacies in the Time of Pandemic: Capitalizing on Misinformation and Fear, which focuses on how established fake pharmacy networks have pivoted to cash in on the coronavirus. PSM’s illustrated version of the report offers a compact summary of NABP’s work. Watch…

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Do You Know What A Pill Press Is?

Do you know what a pill press is? Drug counterfeiters can acquire a pill press and a counterfeit pill mold to churn out counterfeit medications for less than $500. Unfortunately, “garage manufacturers” are not careful about manufacturing controls, and their products often contain fatal doses of fentanyl or other drugs. Since 2015, bootleg prescription drugs…

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