A director of Ozay Pharmaceuticals, the Turkish drug distributor responsible for one of the infiltrations of counterfeit cancer medication into the secure U.S. drug supply chain, has pleaded guilty to charges related to the importation of counterfeit Avastin and other counterfeit cancer medications into the United States. Turkish national Ozkan Semizoglu pleaded guilty to charges…
Read MoreFayez Al-Jabri of Chicago acted as a black market wholesaler, importing thousands of doses of fake pills from China for further distribution. A Chicago resident has been sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for his role in importing for sale over 26,000 doses of counterfeit ED medication into the United States, reports the Department of…
Read MoreFedEx N101FEsby Drewski2112 via Flickr. A nine-year investigation has culminated in indictments of FedEx companies for conspiracies to traffic in controlled substances and misbranded prescription drugs associated with illegal Internet pharmacies. Although warned by Congress as early as 2004, the FEDEX Corporation allegedly continued to act as a delivery service for fake online pharmacies, and…
Read MoreLawrence Stowe and his co-conspirator Francisco Morales lured desperate patients with ALS and other neurological ailments to their clinic with promises of miracle cures. Instead unsuspecting patients were subjected to untested and bogus treatments that cost as much as $100,000 per patient. Lawrence Stowe, the so-called doctor referred to as a “21st Century snake oil…
Read MoreConfiscated fake drugs. Image courtesy of Ventura County Sheriff's Department. A tip called in to the local “Crime Stoppers” line informed the Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit (VCIPCU) that fake drugs imported from Mexico were being sold in a local store in Santa Paula. Subsequent investigations led the VCIPCU to make arrests of 20…
Read MoreProfessor Dora Akunyili. Image courtesy of doraakunyilionline.org. Dr. Akunyili spearheaded Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) transformation into a modern food and drug enforcement agency, and was tireless in her fight against counterfeit medication in Nigeria. After a two-year battle with cancer, Nigeria’s Professor Dora Akunyili passed away on June…
Read MoreA doctor in Texas sentenced to probation, and an oncology practice office manager in Kentucky has pleaded guilty to charges that they imported non-FDA approved cancer medication. Quality Specialty Products, the Canada Drugs-owned pharmaceutical wholesaler responsible for the importation of counterfeit Avastin, was implicated in both cases. In Laredo, Texas Dr. Eduardo Miranda was sentenced…
Read MoreFull infographic available from the World Health Organization. The explosion of the global counterfeit drug trade has magnified antimicrobial resistance for ailments such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, diarrhea, and pneumonia. Now public health experts in the United Kingdom are calling for an organization bring together global expertise to fight the threat of drug resistance. The…
Read MoreThe National Crime Prevention Council has 7 tips for buying prescription drugs online. 1. Never purchase prescription drugs without your doctor's prescription. 2. Be familiar with the mediations you take, including the color, size, shape, taste and side effects. 3. Make sure the package or container the medication comes in has not been altered or…
Read MoreThe European Medicines Agency (EMA) has reported two additional cancer treatments that have been illegally distributed, after their theft in Italy in April, 2014. Lots of two additional cancer medications, Avastin (bevacizumab), an injectable cancer treatment used for colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and kidney cancer and MabThera (rituximab), a treatment of cancers of the lymphatic…
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