The proliferation of counterfeit drugs on the global market and easy availability via online pharmacies is an increasing problem. The makers of counterfeit drugs have enjoyed and profited from loopholes in a system designed to deliver healthy medicines to those in need. The rising cost of prescription medications and the ubiquitous presence of online and overseas pharmacies means more people…

The proliferation of counterfeit drugs on the global market and easy availability via online pharmacies is an increasing problem. The makers of counterfeit drugs have enjoyed and profited from loopholes in a system designed to deliver healthy medicines to those in need. The rising cost of prescription medications and the ubiquitous presence of online and overseas pharmacies means more people…

China announced on Friday it had shut down 23 websites for illegal drug sales and false advertising of drug products, the country's pharmaceutical authority said. The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) publicized a list of 25 websites found in its latest inspection. The sites either sold counterfeit drugs or publicized illicit content, such as false, exaggerated or misleading information…

A first-in-the-nation plan to keep counterfeit prescription drugs from reaching consumers was put on hold again Tuesday by the state Board of Pharmacy at a meeting in San Diego. It was the second two-year delay for the start of a statewide electronic pedigree drug-tracking program first approved by the Legislature and governor in 2004. It would require factory-to-patient tracking of…

New laws are now in place to deal with the influx of bogus and hazardous medical products and services to the country. The announcement made this week by the Attorney General, Dato Seri Paduka Haji Kifrawi bin Dato Paduka Haji Kifli, at the opening of the Legal Year 2008 on the Medicines Order 2007 is another important measure that could…

Along with the international trades in narcotics, armaments and looted antiquities, trafficking in counterfeit drugs is one of the most lucrative. Counterfeit medical products are a major public-health risk for all communities and the trade has grown in recent years as counterfeiting methods have become more sophisticated and the amount of merchandise crossing borders has increased. Speaking on an Australian…

It would be hard to argue against the benefits of pharmaceuticals. Their development and use has led to life-prolonging effects such as lowering many people's blood pressure and cholesterol, boosting the immune system of HIV positive patients, and even the remission of some types of cancer. But what happens when these drugs we have so come to depend on contain…

Federal drug regulators, in announcing Wednesday that the mystery contaminant in heparin was an inexpensive, unapproved ingredient altered to mimic the real thing, moved closer to concluding that Americans might be the latest victims of lethal Chinese drug counterfeiting. The finding by the Food and Drug Administration culminated a worldwide race to identify the substance discovered early this month in…