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Argentinian police in riot gear–By Luciano Signorelli via Flickr.
Read MoreBACKGROUND: Websites of many rogue sellers of medications are accessible through links in email spam messages or via web search engines. This study examined how well students enrolled in a U.S. higher education institution could identify clearly unsafe pharmacies. OBJECTIVE: The aim is to estimate these health consumers vulnerability to fraud by illegitimate Internet pharmacies. METHODS: Two Internet pharmacy websites,…
Read MoreChina’s Commerce Department announced an increase in enforcement over counterfeit products in China, including medicines, said Jiang Zengwei at a news conference, as he promised closer cooperation with the United States, Japan and Europe. According to the Associated Press reporting in the Washington Post, trade groups say Chinese goods piracy is growing despite repeated attempts to stamp it out with…
Read MoreDelhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit is working to develop capacity to fight fake drugs. According to The Times of India, Dikshit said the Delhi government is strengthening the state drug control department based upon recommendations made by Mashelkar Committee in a seminar entitled “Measures to Combat Counterfeit Drugs.” “I am concerned about the health of people… We will not leave…
Read MoreFederal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York dropped charges against Marla Ahlgrimm on November 5th without explanation. Ms. Ahlgrimm, a registered pharmacist, had been charged with counterfeit drug distribution along with a a Middleton, Wisconsin resident, Balbir Bhogal in September, reports the Associated Press in the Chicago Tribune. Ms. Ahlgrimm is a prominent pharmacist known for the creation…
Read MoreThe U. S. Pharmacopeia (USP) is building a database of fake medications to support and share with regulators and non-governmental organizations targeted to launch in 2011. The database will provide regulators with the ability to monitor fake and substandard drug trends and better support enforcement actions. Patrick Lukulay, director of the Promoting the Quality of Medicines (PQM) program at USP…
Read MoreThis is a reprint of the FDA alert. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says Vigor-25, a product marketed as a natural dietary supplement to enhance male sexual performance, should not be purchased or used because it contains sildenafil, the active ingredient in the prescription drug Viagra. Sildenafil may interact with prescription drugs known as nitrates, including nitroglycerin, and can…
Read MoreOn November 18, after a year-long law enforcement partnership between federal, state and local officials, approximately 30 federal search warrants were issued in Mississippi in search of counterfeit pharmaceuticals. A team of nearly 100 law enforcement agents participated in the operation, according to a press release from the Mississippi’s Attorney General’s Office. The operations involved the U.S. Attorney’s Office-Northern and…
Read MoreEthiopia is training new staff and building capacity to better evaluate the safety of drugs within its country’s borders by using laboratory quality management systems and learning to test for authenticity. In order to ensure the quality of the country’s essential medicines, Promoting the Quality of Medicines, a USAID program, has been working with the Ethiopian government to build capacity…
Read MoreThe Chinese agency in charge of the fight against counterfeit drugs has announced a new initiative to crack down on the trafficking of illegal medications over the internet, according to the Global Times. The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) announced it new campaign at a press conference in Beijing. Wang Lifeng, the director of the SFDA's department of supervision, stated…
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