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Counterfeit ‘Lifestyle’ Drugs Uncovered in Indonesia View Larger Map What: Counterfeit drugs, including antibiotics, contraceptives and blood pressure medications were seized in Indonesia. Counterfeit lifestyle drugs including whitening creams and erectile dysfunction medications were also found. When: March 17, 2009 Where: Towns across the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. Additional details: The Jakarta Globe reports that after a…
Read MoreIn May 2009, Dr. Vinod Patwardhan, an oncologist working in Upland and Chino, California, was found guilty by a jury of smuggling foreign, misbranded cancer drugs into the United States and administering them to his patients. Between 2004 and 2008, Patwardhan purchased $1.3 million worth of injectable cancer drugs from foreign sources. He and his employees made at least 34…
Read MoreSpread of spurious/counterfeit/substandard drugs is a modern day menace which has been recognised internationally, especially so in developing countries. The problem assumes added significance in view of rapid globalisation. The market of spurious and counterfeit drugs is a well-organised, white collar crime. Poverty, high cost of medicines, lack of an official supply chain, legislative lacunae, easy accessibility to computerised printing…
Read MoreDid you know that Internet search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, claim to verify online pharmacies through PharmacyChecker.com? But what good does it do? This site provides little to no security about the legitimacy of Internet drug sellers. Rogue online pharmacies continue to profit from the sale of counterfeit drugs, and at the same time Internet search engines profit from the advertisements on these non-verified pharmacies’ Web sites. Even more alarming is that Internet search engines are in no way held accountable for hosting and profiting off “online pharmacies” who distribute counterfeit drugs.
Read MorePartnership for Safe Medicines cautions consumers against counterfeit influenza drugs WASHINGTON—The Partnership for Safe Medicines, a group of organizations and individuals dedicated to protect consumers from counterfeit medicines, issued the following statement regarding the treatments for the A/H1N1 swine influenza. In light of the international swine influenza outbreak, pharmacists and consumers need to be wary of online drug sellers who…
Read MoreEarlier this month, the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) released the L.E.A.D.E.R.’s Guide for Pharmacists to encourage pharmacists to take an active role in protecting the supply chain from counterfeit drugs. This effort is one of many to help curb the distribution of harmful and potentially deadly counterfeit drugs. Similarly, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB), Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Dispensing Doctor’s Association (DDA) issued Counterfeit medicines: Guidance for pharmacists, explaining the background of counterfeit drugs, their production and distribution to pharmacists.
Read MoreOn April 6, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a summary of negotiations that have taken place since the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was introduced in June 2008. Countries from across the world, including the United States, Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Switzerland, have joined the ACTA to help governments combat the harmful manufacture and distribution of fake goods, such as counterfeit drugs.
Read MoreReport Counterfeit Drugs and Suspicious Vendors < Evaluate • Intro > Intro > Learn > Educate > Avoid > Decline > Evaluate > Report Your cooperation is an essential part of FDA’s and state regulatorsʹ efforts to protect the public from diverted, counterfeit, and otherwise unsafe prescription drugs. You can use this guide to help health and law enforcement officials.…
Read MoreIn the past two weeks, the Partnership for Safe Medicines issued two SafeMeds Alerts about counterfeit insulin pen needles and herbal medication adulterated with dangerously high levels of undeclared pharmaceuticals in the United Kingdom. It is tempting to disregard these alerts since the drugs were found in England, not the United States. But in today’s global environment, we are all at risk when these unsafe products move through the drug supply chain undetected.
Read MoreEvaluate Your Medicines < Decline • Intro • Report > > Intro > Learn > Educate > Avoid > Decline > Evaluate > Report While some counterfeit drugs are nearly indistinguishable to the legitimate product, many counterfeit drugs leave visual clues or have physical traits that can help you judge whether or not the medicines are real. When you start…
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