News Coverage
The Partnership for Safe Medicines has been publishing information about the counterfeit drug problem around the world for more than a decade. With experts leading the organization and a committed and passionate set of writers and editors, our content is more in-depth than many other sources, which simply copy links to the news from other websites.
Drug fatalities among U.S. teens have doubled since 2019—largely because of counterfeit pills made with fentanyl. Two websites were warned to stop selling Adderall without a prescription, and more than 20 additional stories in 14 states.
Americans searching for cheaper prescription drugs in Mexico are often sold fake or substandard products. Fake blood thinners were just recently found in Mexican pharmacies and sold to American patients.
This week’s roundup includes a warning about mass fentanyl poisoning events; a guilty plea from a doctor who faked vaccination records; more counterfeit medicine in Mexico, and pressed pills made with fentanyl in 18 states.
Washington, D.C. (April 6, 2022) – The Partnership for Safe Medicines has teamed up with the ADAP Advocacy Association (aaa+) to educate people living with HIV on ways they can protect themselves against potential counterfeit medications.
In this week’s roundup: The Justice Department’s investigation of an alleged counterfeit HIV drug network; case updates in New Jersey and Washington, international news, and 40+ stories about pressed pills made with fentanyl or other substances.
This week’s roundup covers two COVID-19 test kit recalls, alleged prescription drug smugglers who sold breast cancer treatments—among other drugs—online, and 33 more stories across the country,
This is a reprint of an FDA Alert. SD Biosensor Recalls STANDARD Q COVID-19 Ag Home Tests That Are Not Authorized, Cleared, or Approved by the FDA and May Give False Results The FDA has identified this as a Class I recall, the most serious type of recall. Use of these devices may cause serious…
Many criminals are in the fake HIV drug business, and the drugs they sell online are a big threat to the health of HIV patients. Learn more here.
Without effective treatment, rabies causes fever, headache, delirium, hallucinations, spasms that prevent swallowing and—almost always—death.
Read about this case and dozens more in this week’s news roundup.
What’s more shocking than a fake online pharmacy selling fake medicines to desperate patients? The same sites selling illicit drugs like fentanyl. It’s one more reason to support the DRUGS Act.
A high school senior who died in 2021 believed he was buying oxycodone, but test results showed fentanyl and xylazine—a non-opioid veterinary sedative.
Find links to this story and two dozen more in this week’s news roundup.
New Jersey is the 17th state in which PSM has documented a death caused by a counterfeit pill containing fentanyl sold to the victim on Snapchat.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning people not to use the SD Biosensor Inc. STANDARD Q COVID-19 Ag Home Test. The test is not authorized, cleared, or approved by the FDA for distribution or use in the United States. The FDA is concerned about the risk of false results when using this unauthorized test. This unauthorized test may be packaged in a white and magenta box.
Learn how this year’s Notorious Markets Report illustrates need for the DRUGS Act.
LegitScript’s three-month study found that locking and suspending rogue online pharmacy websites suppressed them in search engine results.
Catch up on this and more than 30 other stories here.
Washington, D.C. (August 12, 2021) – Shabbir Safdar, executive director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines, released the following statement in response to the Synthetic Opioid Trafficking Commission’s Final Report
The Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking’s Final Report makes recommendations for a complex, multipronged federal response to the fentanyl crisis.
The Office of the US Trade Representative released this year’s Review of Notorious Markets, which identifies markets that “engage in, facilitate, turn a blind eye to, or benefit from substantial piracy or counterfeiting.”
Click through to see this report, and catch up on more than 30 stories about counterfeit medicine.
Pennsylvania has become the sixteenth state in which PSM has found someone poisoned and killed by a counterfeit pills sold to them by a dealer on Snapchat.
The final report of the Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking summarizes the fentanyl crisis and makes recommendations for a coordinated federal response to help save American lives.
A 16-year-old in Kansas died after he was sold a counterfeit pill containing fentanyl by a drug dealer on Snapchat.
On February 2nd PSM held a one-hour webinar to discuss advocacy opportunities and federal legislation such as the DRUGS Act, which could make positive change.
Parents in Mississippi have asked legislators for help after they lost their 19-year-old son to a counterfeit pill sold to him on Snapchat.
Has your family been affected by fentanyl or fake pills? Learn about opportunities in 2022 to advocate to address the crisis in this webinar about federal legislation this year.
Two nurses in New York allegedly made $1.5 million over a three month period forging vaccine cards and entering them in New York’s statewide vaccine database. Catch up on this and 16 more stories.
First among the more that two dozen stories in this week’s round up: Gilead Sciences is suing a a network of unauthorized drug suppliers and distributors for selling over 85,000 bottles of counterfeit HIV medicines sold as legitimate Biktarvy and Descovy to U.S. pharmacies.
The “Domain Reform for Unlawful Drug Sellers” or “DRUGS” Act would require domain name sellers to lock and suspend websites when regulators or law enforcement show evidence that they are selling drugs illegally.
This would be a game changer for patient safety.
The surge of the omicron variant has left people struggling to find COVID tests and upgrading their face coverings. Read on to find suggestions for both, as well as the rest of the week’s counterfeit medicine news.
A new story in the Wall Street Journal revealed details about the mysterious criminal counterfeiting ring that has been selling fake versions of HIV medications Biktarvy, Symtuza, and Descovy to licensed pharmacies. Read to learn some key things about the crime.
Amidst a shortage of COVID-19 tests that has encouraged fraud and counterfeits, the FTC published guidance about how to avoid purchasing fake home test kits online. Catch up on this and counterfeit drug stories across eight states.
Recent analysis at the CDC found that fentanyl is the leading cause of death for U.S. adults ages 18-45, and fake pills are playing a prominent role: in western states, more than 13% of fentanyl deaths involved counterfeit pills. Catch up on all the news here.
Senators Cassidy and Burr and Representatives Latta and Griffith introduced new legislation to permanently classify fentanyl analogues as Schedule I substances. Temporary scheduling is currently set to expire in February 2022. Catch up on this and 24 more stories in this post.
Is there money in counterfeit cough syrup? There really is—but you can never tell what’s in fake medicine and sometimes it will kill you. Watch this week’s video to learn about a recently busted cough syrup ring in Texas.
The Sacramento Bee has been steadily covering counterfeit pills made with fentanyl since 2016, but it has also used the word “overdose” to describe fake pill deaths. PSM and a group of parents asked the paper to change their language so that the public better understands the threat.
A teenager dying in North Dakota bought down a fentanyl conspiracy ring that spanned three nations and two continents.
Watch part 5 to learn about the task force that made this investigation possible.
Associates of the Assad regime have become international suppliers of counterfeit amphetamine pills.
In the past, contact lenses like these have been contaminated with harmful bacteria.
Drug deaths in the twelve months ending in April 2021 increased 28% over the same period the previous year. The tragic increase is fueled by fentanyl and its analogues being added to the entire spectrum of illicit drugs.
Federal authorities have indicted nine Texans who allegedly sold almost $53 million in counterfeit cough syrup over the last seven years. Learn more about this case and catch up on the rest of this week’s counterfeit medicine news.
As counterfeit pills made with dangerous substances proliferate in the U.S., lawmakers and regulators are grappling with whether stronger penalties for the misuse of pill presses or tighter control of the machines would deter homegrown pill makers. We have looked at this issue and here’s what we found.
The Mexican army estimated that the bust may disrupt the production of about 70 million of the blue fentanyl pills every month. Catch up on all of last week’s news about counterfeit medicine.
An investigation by the Kane County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service led to the seizure of over two pounds of counterfeit Adderall pills that tested positive for methamphetamine.
Operation Dark HunTor stopped Darknet sellers in seven states and Washington D.C. Click here for links to this and 29 other stories about fakes medicine.
The death of a Nevada resident who took a fake pill from an alleged Snapchat dealer brings PSM’s tally of states with deaths tied to the platform to 13. It’s indicative of a problem across the whole internet.
A Pennsylvania company is being investigated for selling fake N95 masks to as many as 20 medical facilities across the country—including the Cleveland Clinic. Catch up on this story and more of last week’s safe medicines news.
The United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission’s newest report found Chinese companies adapting to a changing legal framework to maintain their prominent status as suppliers, and even venturing into money-laundering services for Mexican drug trafficking organizations
40-year-old Steven Barros Pintos was prosecuted as part of a long running investigation into a fentanyl and fentanyl pill trafficking ring that spanned Canada, China and the U.S.
Counterfeit Adderall made with methamphetamine is not a new problem, but it is exploding in the shadow of the fentanyl pill epidemic. As of September 2021, these counterfeits had been found in 19 states.
After listening to grieving parents who have lost children to counterfeit pills sold on their platform, Snapchat announced new efforts to crackdown down on illegal drug sales. Click to catch up on this, and the rest of last week’s counterfeit medicine news.
When you buy prescription medicine online from an unlicensed pharmacy, your credit card charges can’t be legally processed by legitimate banks. Drug sellers turn to criminals to launder their payments. That’s how these New Yorkers just got a combined 104 months in prison for bank and wire fraud.
A pharmacy owner and a darkweb dealer plotted to firebomb another pharmacy so they could buy more opioids, and then blame it on a jealous husband.
As the DEA seized 1.8 million fake pills over just two months, families all over the country are sharing the stories of victims.
Read about this and catch up on thirty more counterfeit medicine stories here.
The DEA issues a rare public warning about counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine being seized in all 50 states. Watch PSM’s video to learn more.
This week the DEA warned that prescription medications bought on the black market contain fentanyl or methamphetamine, and reported that it had seized 9.6 million counterfeit pills in the 2020-2021 fiscal year–more than it seized in the previous two years combined.
Catch up on this and the rest of last week’s counterfeit medicine news.
The August 2021 indictment of an alleged fentanyl pill dealer for the death of a Maui resident makes Hawaii the final U.S. state to confirm a counterfeit pill fatality. Watch our weekly video to learn more about the changes we’ve seen over the last six years.
With the filing of charges against a Hawaii resident last month, PSM has confirmed fentanyl pill deaths reported in public sources in all 50 states. It’s more crucial than ever that your family knows that these deadly pills exist.
Catch up on this news and more than a dozen additional stories in this week’s news roundup.
Ever-adaptable, some COVID-scammers are making counterfeit COVID vaccine cards for vaccine refusers inside the U.S., while others gear up to sell fake vaccines to people desperately seeking them in the developing world.
Read these recent stories and a dozen more about fake medicine in this week’s news roundup.
The U.S. Department of State is offering up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest of Jian Zhang, a Chinese citizen who was indicted in 2017 for allegedly running fentanyl labs in China and selling fentanyl in pill and powder form to U.S. residents online.
This is just one of 28 fake medicine stories in this week’s news roundup.
The Board of Directors for the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) announces the retirement of Board President Dr. Marvin D. Shepherd.
A new issue brief from U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission finds that even though China banned fentanyl production and sales in 2019, it is still the ultimate source of illicit fentanyl in the U.S.
Click to read the report and catch up on news in twelve states.
A few weeks ago, Customs and Border Protection in Tennessee announced that it had intercepted counterfeit vaccine cards shipped from China. This week’s roundup adds fake card news in Alaska, Illinois and Florida. Catch up on these and more than a dozen other safe medicines stories.
Washington, D.C. (August 12, 2021) – Shabbir Safdar, executive director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines, released the following statement in response to President Biden’s remarks about lowering healthcare costs for Americans
An IT security firm reports that the number of sellers advertising fake vaccination cards on Telegram has spiked 257% since March 2021.
Catch up on this news and the rest of the week’s COVID-scam and counterfeit medicine news here.
Am eBay seller is voluntarily recalling all lots of Hydro Pineapple Burn to consumer level because FDA analysis has found the product to contain undeclared sibutramine, an appetite suppressant that was withdrawn from the market because of safety issues.
Je Dois L’avoir Boutique is voluntarily recalling all of the 365 Skinny High Intensity Pills and or 365 Skinny Emergency Boutique, 30 day capsules supply to the retail/consumer level. The 365 Skinny High Intensity Pills and 365 Skinny Emergency Boutique have been found to contain Sibutramine which is a controlled substance by the DEA.
There are a lot of ineffective and ridiculous #covidscams out in the world, but this particular scam the FDA found that offers to “cure” COVID-19 with magnets takes the cake. Watch “Save Me Magnets!” to learn about this and other harebrained scams. If you need protection from COVID-19, it’s FREE! Text your zip code to 438829 to find out the nearest place for you to get a free vaccine.
Gilead Sciences reports that unauthorized distributors have been selling counterfeit versions of its HIV treatments, Biktarvy and Descovy, to U.S. pharmacies. It’s the second case of counterfeit HIV medicine reaching U.S. pharmacies in the last 12 months.
Gilead has alerted potentially impacted pharmacies to investigate the potential for counterfeit or tampered Gilead medication sold by distributors not authorized by Gilead that may be within their recent supply and to remain vigilant to the potential for this to occur in the future. The authenticity and safety of Gilead-branded medicines can only be secure when obtained directly through Gilead’s authorized distributors.
HR 4459, the Stop the Importation and Manufacturing of Synthetic Analogues (SIMSA) Act of 2021 would amend the Controlled Substances Act to “result in faster control of drugs designed to be used in the same illicit manner as already regulated or outlawed drugs.” Catch up on this and more than 30 more counterfeit medicine news stories.
Homeland Security Investigations’ Operation Stolen Promise has declared that its second year will focus on on fake treatments and vaccine fraud. That’s good, because this kind of fraud is pervasive, and it’s even coming from trusted sources like doctors. Learn about two recent federal cases here.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland seized two websites that tried to mimic legitimate Walmart websites, and claimed to sell drugs that treat or prevent COVID-19. Read this and 15 more stories in the world of fake medicine.
In May, New Orleans-based WWL TV covered the death of a high school senior who was killed by a fake prescription pill made with fentanyl just days before her graduation. Getting news out about these pills is incredibly important but so is accuracy. PSM and a group of parents wrote the station to point out the danger of describing these deaths as overdoses rather than poisoning.
Shabbir Safdar, executive director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM), released this statement in response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) preliminary statistics for the number of Americans whose deaths in 2020 involved drugs
Tragic preliminary statistics that show that drug deaths rose from 70,600 in 2019 to 93,000 in 2020 with 57,000 the result of synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
Click to read this and the rest of this week’s counterfeit medicine news.
Shabbir Safdar, executive director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines, released this statement in response to President Biden’s executive order to foster competition, which favors importation of prescription drugs from Canada.
Learn about South Carolina’s grave warning for its residents, and more than 30 other stories in counterfeit news.
With the year half over, where are we with policy proposals and crimes that affect the safety of the supply chain?
Watch our June 30th webinar for an update.
CBP officers captured more than 100 shipments of black market versions of the Covid-19 treatment remdesivir in recent months. Read to learn more about this and the rest of the week’s news in fake medicine.
A guilty plea for a Connecticut man who made deadly counterfeit Percocet in Stamford, and a dozen more fake medicine stories.
On June 4, 2021, parents and family members gathered in 30 cities around the country to protest social media companies’ inaction on drug sales on their platforms. The protest in Santa Monica focused on Snapchat headquarters.
Every year, Interpol coordinates Operation Pangea, a seven-day initiative that targets the sale of counterfeit and unauthorized medical products. Read this to learn about this year’s fake medicine haul, and catch up on 17 other stories in the news.
Families rallied in 30 U.S. cities to draw attention to fentanyl poisoning deaths and to demand that social media companies stop drug dealers selling on their sites. Plus, 23 more counterfeit medicine stories.
What’s happening with Canadian drug importation? What’s Florida doing with a big empty warehouse? Isn’t this policy currently in the courts? You’ve got questions and we’ve got answers.
Customs and Border Protection are hard at work protecting Americans from counterfeit medicines and fake medical devices. Read on to learn about recent seizures of prescription steroids, COVID-19 test kits and more in Cincinnati, and catch up on 27 other stories about medicine safety.
A Mississippi physician will pay more than half a million in fines, forfeitures and restitution for treating his patients with foreign, non-FDA-approved versions Prolia, Boniva, and Aclasta.
And 15 more stories from the world of counterfeit medicine.
The media speaks as if counterfeit pill victims were seeking drugs and “overdosed” because they took too much of them, but that doesn’t accurately reflect what is happening. Too often, victims have been sold drugs that they weren’t seeking at all.
Help PSM tell journalists that pill victims have been poisoned, not overdosed.
U.S. Attorneys in California announced 12 new drug prosecutions (8 for fake fentanyl pills) all of which involved deaths. Plus, 19 more stories about counterfeit medicines and COVID-19 fraud.
A short 6-month extension for emergency scheduling of fentanyl analogues, an update to Illegal Pill Presses: An Overlooked Threat to American Patients, and twenty more COVID fraud and medicine safety stories.
The Partnership for Safe Medicines and the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators have released an update to 2019’s Illegal Pill Presses: An Overlooked Threat to American Patients.
Since the initial report, fentanyl deaths are higher than ever and these pills – created by clandestine pill presses around the globe – continue to be sold on the streets and on the dark web.
This week’s roundup includes: Fake remdesivir plagues India and 18 more counterfeit medicine and COVID-fraud stories you may have missed.
Shabbir Safdar, Executive Director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines, released the following statement today in response to Congressional actions to permanently scheduling illicitly manufactured and deadly fentanyl…
This week’s roundup includes: a conviction in Colorado, fake COVID-19 vaccines, Operation Stolen Promise statistics and 17 more counterfeit medicine stories.
This week: 70 months for a Pennsylvania man who trafficked counterfeit medicines, two fentanyl pill operations shut down, counterfeit pill seizures and warnings and a couple of #covidscams.
ADAP Advocacy Association CEO Brandon M. Macsata wrote this editorial, which appeared on the AIDS Drug Assistance Program’s website on April 1, 2021.
The Association first warned constituents that counterfeit Symtuza had been distributed to three U.S. pharmacies in December 2020, when Janssen issued an alert.
This week: The government undertakes scheduling fentanyl analogues, another silicone injection case, a huge counterfeit pill trafficking bust in Quebec, and many, many more fentanyl pills.
Learn why permanently scheduling fentanyl-related substances and analogues on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act is an important policy tool in the fight against fentanyl-laced counterfeit medicines.
PSM wanted to shine a spotlight on member organization Rx Outreach. Not only does this organization provide affordable medications for people in need, but Rx Outreach also runs a program called Healthy Reentry to fill the medication gap to help ex-offenders as they transition back into society…
This week: A federal jury indicts a man for smuggling and selling fraudulent COVID-19 treatments, a woman pleads guilty for a silicone injection death in Missouri, police seize nine million fake clonazepam tablets in Europe, and news about counterfeit pills in ten U.S. states.
This week: A new contaminant in hand sanitizers, mystery medicated eye patches, sentencing for Ukrainian counterfeiters and counterfeit pill updates.
On December 17, 2020, FDA issued a press release that warned consumers to avoid certain products found on Amazon, eBay and other retailers due to hidden and potentially dangerous drug ingredients. It also encouraged online marketplaces to ensure these products are not sold on their platforms.