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Washington, D.C. (October 8, 2010) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is committed to keeping American drugs safe and needs new regulatory authority to do so, said Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the FDA, in prepared remarks at today’s inaugural Counterfeit Drug Interchange Conference hosted by the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM). The conference brought together more than a hundred cross-industry stakeholders to discuss ways to stem the rising tide of counterfeit and unsafe medicines.
“The FDA is firmly committed to doing all that we can to further strengthen our nation’s drug supply and ensure the quality and safety of all drugs and medical products on the U.S. market,” said Hamburg. “It is clear that FDA needs new regulatory tools that provide the authority we need to meet the challenges we face in today’s increasing globalized marketplace. And we look forward to working with Congress on legislation that will give FDA the ability to protect Americans from harmful drugs and medical products—and fulfill our fundamental public health mission.”
Read MoreInterpol Russia recently announced that it would start a major operation against fake drugs. Rossiyskaya Gazeta announced the operation Monday September 27, 2010. The head of Russia’s Interpol Bureau, General Timur Lakhonin, said that the operation would seek the sources of counterfeit drugs in the country, reports the ITAR-TASS News Agency. “At present, a special raid was launched to detect…
Read MoreThailand recently launched a government-wide effort to fight the counterfeit drug trade in the country. Nine government agencies recently signed a memorandum of understanding to join together to fight the trade of fake drugs, according to The Nation. These agencies are the Customs Department, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Special Investigation, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association, Royal Thai Police,…
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The Partnership for Safe Medicine’s First Annual
Interchange will open Friday morning, October 8th for a day of
intriguing panels on counterfeit drugs investigating the victims,
criminals, and law enforcers.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH IT LIVE ON C-SPAN
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW OUR LIVEBLOGGER
After opening remarks by Scott LaGanga, the first panel including
Walt Bogdanich, investigative reporter for the New York Times, will
address the victims of counterfeit drugs. Following a morning break,
attendees will be listening to panelists from US law enforcement
agencies, including USDA Office of Criminal Investigations, the
Department of Justice and the Department of Commerce.
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) recently announced the purchase AWARxE, a website and campaign that seeks to educate the public about the dangers presented by illegal online pharmacies. AWARxE was started in 2007 by the Minnesota Pharmacists Foundation after it heard about the story of Justin Pearson, a 24 year old who accidentally overdosed and died from…
Read MoreA task force in Bangkok, Thailand, recently raided four drug store houses and found more than 200 varieties of counterfeit drugs. The task force, made up of police and health officials, were tipped off that the stockrooms in the Din Daeng district were distribution points for fake drugs, according to the Bangkok Post. The drugs that were faked included medications…
Read MoreFederal agents recently seized more than $21 million in counterfeit drugs and other phony items at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The 10-day operation, dubbed Operation Safe Summer, ran from September 7 to September 17 and saw a wide range of counterfeit products be seized, according to The Cincinnati Equirer. The operation was part of a nationwide effort by U.S.…
Read MoreCounterfeit drugs affect every country in the world but few have been as hard hit by the scourge of phony medications like Nigeria. A number of incidents over the past few decades illustrate the problems the African nation has had with counterfeit drugs. In 1989, three children died at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) after taking sub-standard chloroquine…
Read MoreThe rise of a strain of tuberculosis that is resistant to medications is on the rise in East Africa and is part of the result of the unknowing use of counterfeit drugs. There are two types of TB that have become resistant to medicine, multi-drug resistant TB and extremely resistant TB, and the prevalence of both of these illnesses is…
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