San Diego is in the Midst of a Deadly Counterfeit Pill Crisis, with 50 Confirmed Deaths Thus Far

August 6, 2019

U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer has issued a public safety warning concerning deadly counterfeit oxycodone pills in San Diego County. NBC San Diego reports, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office said border seizures, prosecutions and overdoses in San Diego County are on pace to reach all-time highs by the end of 2019. The Medical Examiner’s Office reports 50 confirmed fentanyl-related fatal overdoses so far this year, and says 28 more suspected cases are waiting to be confirmed.”

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Prime Minister Trudeau Promises to Protect the Canadian Drug Supply In The Face Of The U.S. Drug Importation Statement

August 1, 2019

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was interviewed today in Iqaluit, and according to CBC Canada, he reassured Canadians that Health Canada is already safeguarding the Canadian prescription drug supply regardless of international pressure.

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Partnership for Safe Medicines Statement on Reckless and Politically-Motivated Federal Drug Importation Proposal

July 31, 2019

Partnership for Safe Medicines Statement on Reckless and Politically-Motivated Drug Importation Proposal Washington, D.C. (July 31, 2019) – Shabbir Safdar, executive director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines, released the following statement in response to today’s announcement by HHS Secretary Alex Azar and FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless: “Less than a year and a half ago,…

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Both Fake Online Pharmacies That Received FDA Warning Letters In March Have Finally Ceased Operations

July 31, 2019

In March, the FDA issued two warning letters to websites selling misbranded prescription drugs. The first website, azmedicinalshop.com, quickly went offline, but the second, thedonrx.net, continued to operate for months before finally going dark…

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ASOP Canada and 14 Other Canadian Patient Organizations Raise Alarm with Canadian Minister of Health on U.S. Drug Importation Proposals

July 30, 2019

The Canadian branch of the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP), along with fourteen other Canadian patient advocacy organizations have written a letter to Canadian Health Minister, the Honorable Ginette Petitpas Taylor imploring her to prevent the United States from wiping out the Canadian prescription medication supply with their misguided importation proposals.

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Pensacola, Florida Tattoo Parlor Owner Pleads Guilty to Selling Chinese-made Counterfeit Contact Lenses

July 25, 2019

A Pensacola, Florida woman named Son Chu Gilliam has pleaded guilty to charges that she bought bulk counterfeit contact lenses from China and sold them through her tattoo parlor, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reports.

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Man Charged With Selling Fentanyl Pills That Killed Murray, Utah Woman

July 24, 2019

A Utah man has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the distribution of fentany pills.  A complaint filed on July 3 alleges that he distributed more than 10,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills made with fentanyl over the course of 2016, and that a woman in Murray, Utah died of fentanyl poisoning after taking pills he sold her.

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Fake Oxycodone Made with Fentanyl Found in San Joaquin County, California

July 24, 2019

On July 3, 2019,CBS Sacramento ran a brief story about the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department’s unsettling discovery of counterfeit Oxycodone pills that were actually made with fentanyl.

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Medical Device King Exec Takes a Plea Deal Instead of a Retrial; Gets 32 Months in Prison

July 17, 2019

New York-based Pharmalogical, Inc. (d/b/a Medical Device King and Taranis Medical Corp.) grossed $17 million by misleading U.S. medical practices into believing they were buying FDA-approved products rather than “unapproved products imported through a series of unidentified middlemen in Turkey and elsewhere.” President William Scully, was convicted of these activities in 2015, but the conviction was vacated in 2017. In 2018, he pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to 32 months in prison.

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Florida State Senator Compares Supporting Drug Importation to Believing in the Tooth Fairy

July 17, 2019

This editorial by Perry Thurston Jr. was published in Florida Politics on July 16, 2019. In it, State Senator Thurston explains that state-implemented drug importation will not bring any medication cost savings to Floridians.

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