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That is the question that many of our lawmakers are asking. Senators Dorgan (D-ND), Snowe (R-ME), McCain (R-AZ) and Stabenow (D-MI) brought that question to the forefront when they introduced the “Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act of 2009” (S. 525) in March. Currently waiting to be placed on the Senate calendar, the bill would allow for prescription drug importation.
Read More"Counterfeit Drugs Kill" is the slogan the World Health Organization (WHO) uses in its anti-counterfeiting campaign. International organizations, governments of developed and developing countries, and the pharmaceutical industry created the IMPACT initiative (International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce) to take on the thriving illegal industry that makes profits by selling fake drugs. However, before committing resources, policy makers want to assess…
Read MoreThe cost of counterfeiting is much more than money. In too many cases, counterfeiting costs human health and in some cases lives. For example, a group of clinics in Sierra Leone were closed last week for allegedly administering counterfeit drugs. Other cases involving online drug sellers have claimed the health and lives of patients who bought from illicit Web sites.
Read MoreIt’s happening all the time. Nearly every day, there are new reports of counterfeit drugs flooding the world’s prescription drug market. Just last week, the Partnership for Safe Medicines posted a link about how counterfeit drugs are hastening drug-resistant strains of malaria. And the week before, we shared the news reports out of the United Kingdom about a raid on an Irish counterfeit drug distribution operation and the MHRA’s recall due to possible counterfeit inhalers found in the U.K. supply system.
Read MoreOn May 5, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) administered a warning against General Mills regarding the claim that Cheerios® Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal has the ability to lower cholesterol. Basically, the FDA cited General Mills for marketing Cheerios® as a cholesterol-reducing drug. I believe the FDA’s points are valid and factual, but I have to ask – Shouldn’t our agency watchdog be focusing greater attention on the operators of thousands of Web sites and
Read MoreProtecting the public’s health is an important part of the part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) job. And on May 7, the FDA proposed several measures that would allow the agency to better regulate the safety of Americans’ food and medical products. The FDA request for the President’s fiscal year 2010 budget asks for $3.2 billion to protect and promote public health. This figure, which is a 19 percent increase from the current FDA fiscal year budget, is a significant step towards the direction of a safer pharmaceutical supply chain.
Read MoreDr. Bayardo Cruz pleaded guilty to purchasing imported Mexican IUDs from a company called Universal Services. These devices cost $30 each, a substantial discount from the FDA approved versions, which ranged from $300 – $400 each. Cruz inserted 110 of the black market IUDs in his patients, but continued to bill Medi-Cal for the legitimate ones. He submitted and received…
Read MoreCounterfeit Insulin Needles Found in UK View Larger Map What: A batch of counterfeit insulin pen needles emulating those made by Novo Nordisk were discovered in the United Kingdom. According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in England, “the needles were not made by Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of NovoFine® and do not comply with the company’s stringent product quality…
Read MoreMHRA Seizes Fake Drugs in England View Larger Map What: The United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) seized £500,000 in fake drugs in Middlesbrough, England. The drugs were counterfeit versions of erectile dysfunction, anxiety and weight loss medications. When: March 26, 2009 Where: Middlesbrough, England How: Reports from the Nursing Times indicate that the counterfeit drugs originated…
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