Dubai Seizes 7 million Counterfeit Pills in a Private Company Warehouse

Zawya.com reports about a press conference held on May 31st by Dubai Customs announcing a seizure of a large amount of counterfeit medicine in a warehouse of a registered local company at the Dry Port in Dubai.

The seizure of 7 million counterfeit pills of different medication is considered one of the largest seizures in the region.

According to Zawya.com:

· H.E. Ahmed Butti Ahmed, Executive Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation and Dubai Customs Director General issued a statement during a media conference.

· H.E. Ahmed Butti Ahmed clarified in the statement that the seized medicine is locally prohibited as approved by the tests conducted on its samples and is of counterfeited sexual supplements which bear trademarks of international companies.

· The case is considered an infringement of legal protection of the companies owning such trademarks and a clear violation of the UAE health legislations which prevents selling this medicine unless a medical prescription is issued by a licensed human doctor- as per the ministerial decisions issued under the law of pharmacy profession and pharmaceutical institutions.

· H.E. Ahmed Butti Ahmed said that the investigations conducted by Dubai Customs revealed that an employee working in the implicated company stored the medicine after receiving it from an Arab trader. He kept the haul on a quay at the Dry Port Customs Centre which belongs to the referred company, without notifying the manager of the company who was outside the UAE, in exchange of AED 3000 a month.

· H.E. Dubai Customs Director General expressed his appreciation to the Customs Intelligence employees for the proper handling of the information they received about this counterfeited medicine which played a major role in seizing it. He also praised Customs inspectors for their vigilance as they work night and day to secure the country and the great role of the IPR Department at Dubai Customs in this regard.

To read the entire story on Zawya.com, visit:

http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20100531105654/Dubai%20Customs%20seizes%207%20million%20counterfeit%20pills%20in%20a%20private%20company%20warehouse%20in%20Dry%20Port.

This large seizure shows the vulnerability of the international pharmaceutical supply chain and the various nefarious entities that are impacted by this criminal act.

Secure Pharma Chain Blog endorses that all members of the pharmaceutical supply chain use of authentication technologies to protect and verify their inventories and protect health care consumers.

To learn more about pharmaceutical supply chain solutions, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

Health Day: Dangers Lurk in Impotence Drugs Sold on Web

"Study finds many contain toxins, or too much/too little of the active ingredient."

Amanda Gardner in Health Day reports on a new South Korean study warning of the dangers of buying erectile dysfunction drugs over the internet.

The new study, which was conducted in South Korea and is being presented at the American Urological Association annual meeting in San Francisco, “finds that not only can these knock-off drugs be contaminated, they may contain too much of the active ingredient or none at all. The drugs could especially be dangerous for men with hypertension or heart disease, the study found.”

The following are the highlights from Ms. Gardner’s story:

· "There are lots of rip-offs," said Dr. John Morley, director of geriatrics and acting director of endocrinology at Saint Louis University. "There's still a lot of evidence that many of the things you buy off the Internet without going through a regular pharmacy might appear cheaper or better but they're usually not and they usually don't work."

· "Men who have sexual dysfunction are prepared to try anything and they do try a large number of bizarre things," said Morley. "They try all the Viagra look-alikes, so people are going to buy them."

· In the study, the South Korean team compared 19 counterfeit erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs against prescription Viagra, obtained directly from Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, and Cialis, provided by Lilly.

· About one-third of the counterfeit pills actually differed in size from the real thing, while 42 percent differed in color.

· Fifty-eight percent had too much active ingredient, sometimes as much as 2.4 times more, while 3 percent had no active ingredient at all.

· Some contained unapproved compounds intended to promote an erection.

· Only one of the counterfeit drugs contained "proper active ingredients," the researchers stated. Some contained potential toxins, including mercury and lead.

· Even genuine Viagra has risks, experts note, especially for men who take nitrates for chest pain. And there could be drug interactions with both real and fake ED drugs.

· "All these drugs have side effects and that's probably the big reason why patients should be getting them through a physician," Morley said. "While these things may be cheaper, they potentially have much greater side effects."

The study reinforces the deadly issue of fraudulent, adulterated and counterfeit medications which seem to proliferate on the internet and ultimately lead to the contamination of the legitimate pharmaceutical supply chain.

Secure Pharma Chain Blog, recommends that all members of the pharmaceutical supply chain use a variety of technologies and solutions to protect their inventories from fraudulent medications.

To learn more about pharmaceutical supply chain solutions, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

Read the entire Health Day article, visit: http://healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=639623.

Dr. Weil: Bogus Drugs Online

The following blog, from Dr. Weil’s Daily Blog, Your Health Today, appeared online on Wednesday, March 24, 2010.

Andrew Weil, M.D., is a world-renowned leader and pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, a healing oriented approach to health care which encompasses body, mind, and spirit. In this particular blog, Dr. Weil takes on the deadly issue of fraudulent, adulterated and counterfeit drugs:

The worldwide market for counterfeit drugs sold online is projected to reach $75 billion this year, a 92 percent increase over the past five years. The biggest sellers: fake drugs for erectile dysfunction (ED), which are especially popular because many men are embarrassed to discuss sexual problems with their physicians and because the genuine pharmaceuticals are costly. A study published online in January, 2010, by the International Journal of Clinical Practice estimated that as many 2.5 million men in the European Union alone may be using counterfeit Viagra, some of which can be harmful, even deadly. The researchers found that 150 patients had been admitted to hospitals in Singapore and four died after taking fake Cialis and herbal preparations sold as ED cures. The "Cialis" contained a powerful drug for diabetes.

Fake ED drugs aren't the only problems: in Argentina two pregnant women died after injections of a counterfeit treatment for anemia; in Bangladesh, 51 children died of kidney failure after taking paracetamol (acetaminophen) contaminated with anti-freeze. Some fake Viagra contained amphetamine or caffeine and bulk lactose or was colored blue with printer ink. A "vaccine" for life-threatening meningitis was found to be only water. Other fakes included antibiotics, contraceptives and anti-malarial pills.

My take? Aside from this additional evidence of over-reliance on drugs to solve real or perceived health problems, this is a disturbing trend. Not only does it pose the threat of ingesting harmful ingredients, but presents the danger that by circumventing your physician to buy drugs you think you need, any underlying, undiagnosed medical problem you may have would be missed, potentially putting you at additional risk.

To view Dr. Weil’s blog, visit: http://www.drweilblog.com/home/2010/3/24/bogus-drugs-online.html.

Advertising Age: Combating Counterfeit Drugs

“In the U.K., a Rat Makes a Graphic Point”

In an article, which appeared in July, 2009, Advertising Age published a story about Big Pharma using mass media and advertising to draw public awareness to the deadly issue of counterfeit drugs.

Specifically, it discusses Pfizer and its adverstising agency, Universal McCann’s shocking campaign to lead the fight against the availbility of counterfeit drugs on the internet.

The following are some of the highlights from the piece:

· Counterfeit drugs not only cost drug companies a lot of money each year but also can cause long-term side effects or in some cases death. Drug company Pfizer and its agency, Universal McCann, decided to take the lead in fighting against the availability of counterfeit drugs on the internet and shock people into taking the problem more seriously.

· A multiplatform campaign ran in the U.K. with the central image of a rat coming out of a person's mouth. The "regurgitated rat" campaign was rolled out across TV, cinema and print. In order to reach those most likely to be purchasing counterfeit drugs, the online community, Pfizer redirected users searching under health and medical terms to a website that offered more information.

Secure Pharma Chain Blog, endorses the concept of using all mass media outlets to raise awareness of this deadly crime within the general public and all health care consumers.

To read the entire story in Advertising Age, visit: http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=137812.

Reuters: Counterfeit Drugs on Rise, Pose Global Threat

“Unwary consumers buying counterfeit drugs on Internet.”

On May 19th, Reuters posted a story written by Stephanie Nebehay regarding the recent World Health Organization meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

The article encapsulates the proliferation of this deadly crime and the difficulty in countries around the globe in developing a comprehensive strategy in dealing with it. Although many nations realize the deadly consequences, there are many commercial interests including generics and intellectual properly rights which are complicating efforts to fight this illicit activity on a global scale.

The following are some of the highlights from Ms. Nebehay’s report:

· Production and sale of counterfeit drugs is on the rise in rich and poor countries, with more unwary consumers buying them over the Internet, experts warned on Wednesday.

· Fake or substandard versions of medicines are often hidden in cargos taking circuitous routes to mask their country of origin as part of criminal activity worth billions, they add.

· "They put people at risk of harm from medical products that may contain too much, too little, or the wrong active ingredient and/or contain toxic ingredients," said Margaret Hamburg, head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "Counterfeiting is growing in complexity, scale and geographic scope," she said in a speech to the annual ministerial meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO).

· In wealthy countries, counterfeiting often involves "expensive hormones, steroids and anti-cancer medicines and pharmaceuticals related to lifestyle," a WHO report said.

· But in developing countries, especially Africa, counterfeit medicines are commonly available to treat life-threatening conditions such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, it said.

· Margaret Chan, WHO director-general, said that illicit products had also increased the problem of drug resistance, including to vital anti-malarials and HIV/AIDS drugs. "For a patient, any medicine with compromised safety, efficacy or quality is dangerous," she said.

· Major generic drug makers in India and Brazil, backed by health activists, charge that concerns about counterfeit drugs are being hijacked by pharmaceutical companies keen to protect their patents against legitimate generic competitors.

· (Margaret) Chan said that her United Nations agency would not be drawn into policing intellectual property (IP). "The role of the WHO should be concentrating on public health, not on law enforcement nor intellectual property enforcement."

· There were 1,693 known incidents of counterfeit medicines last year, a rise of 7 percent

Drug counterfeiting is a widely growing, deadly illicit act that is impact millions each year while most of the world’s population remains ignorant of the dangers that they face daily as they consume medications.

Secure Pharma Chain Blog, encourages the pharmaceutical supply chain in advance of regulatory mandates to deploy technology and solutions to protect their inventories and the consumer from this deadly criminal deed.

It is incumbent upon industry to lead the way to supply chain safety and protect their businesses and consumers.

To learn more about pharmaceutical supply chain safety technologies, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

To read the entire Reuters article, visit: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE64I26E20100519.

Lupin Pharmaceuticals Notifies Distributors of Large Cargo Theft

On May 21st a trailer containing 15 pallets of Lupin Pharmaceuticals' generic drugs were stolen in Memphis, Tennessee from a commercial transportation parking lot.

To date, Lupin has not issued a public announcement to warn consumers on its website or via a press release but has sent a letter to drug wholesalers with details and quantities of the stolen medications.

Included in the thefts were large quantities of generic cholesterol-lower pills, antibiotics and epileptic medications.

To see a copy of the letter sent to wholesalers with the details of the stolen drugs, visit: http://freepdfhosting.com/eb3250947f.pdf.

This theft underscores the vulnerability of the pharmaceutical supply chain and undermines the confidence of consumers because it is likely that these stolen medications will end up being sold over the internet, are adulterated in someway or the contents be repackaged and the original bottles used for counterfeit medications.

Secure Pharma Chain Blog, endorses the concept of all members of the supply using authentication technologies to verify their inventories and chain of custody.
This lack of information from Lupin is evidence of the industries fear of the public-at-large understanding how vulnerable the products that they consume daily are and the growing prevelance of adulterated, fraudulent and counterfeit medications are even in the US.

To learn more about pharmaceutical supply chain solutions, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

Miami Herald: U.S. Agents Search for Dangerous Foreign Drugs in Mail

“The Food and Drug Administration stepped up inspections of counterfeit prescription drugs smuggled into Miami and other cities through the U.S. mail.”

Jay Weaver in the Miami Herald writes an interesting story which appeared in the May 14th edition about the interdiction of dangerous foreign drugs at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Foreign-Mail Inspection Facility in West Miami-Dade.

Earlier this month, “dozens of federal agents completed a three-day blitz at the facility, poring through piles of packages filled with illegal pharmaceutical drugs, dietary supplements and home remedies mailed from foreign countries.”

The FDA led operation, was designed to interdict thousands of unapproved medicines, most of which were sent from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Here are some of the highlights from the Mr. Weaver’s article:

· The FDA has zeroed in on hot spots such as Miami, Los Angeles and New York for random inspections of counterfeit and misbranded prescription products that are not allowed to enter the country.

· Many are purchased from foreign suppliers over the Internet, an increasingly risky shopping place for pharmaceutical drugs with unsafe ingredients, inaccurate dosages and false expiration dates.

· ``When counterfeit and unapproved drugs come into this country, it is compromising the overall drug system that we have,'' said David K. Elder, a senior FDA official. ``We're trying to prevent their release into the U.S. market.''

· The vast majority of intercepted pharmaceuticals, diet pills and home remedies are returned to sender. ``We have no authority to destroy them,'' Charles-Julien said. ``We have to send them back.''

· Some inspections have led to criminal investigations by the FDA and ICE, including South Florida probes into Brazilian diet pills laced with speed that are sold over the Internet.

· Last year, the Miami Customs facility processed about 36 million pieces of foreign mail. Of that total, inspectors referred between 8,000 and 10,000 foreign parcels containing unapproved medications to the FDA for further evaluation.

· Last year, FDA and ICE agents completed a major criminal investigation in Houston that targeted Chinese national Kevin Xu. He was convicted of distributing counterfeit and misbranded drugs for blood clots, prostate cancer, Alzheimer's and schizophrenia.

· In 2008, federal prosecutors in Denver indicted a Greek national, Georgios Xydeas, on charges of selling counterfeit and misbranded prescription drugs. He was accused of selling the Chinese-supplied drugs, such as Viagra, Cialis and Xanax, to Internet pharmacies.

· FDA special agent Michael Kurisky said… that buying prescription drugs from Canadian suppliers might seem safe. But he stressed that many Canadian website distributors are supplied by sources in Asia or Eastern Europe. Said Kurisky: ``The ingredients are bad.''

This article demonstrates just one of the ways that fraudulent, adulterated and counterfeit medications enter this country illegally and find their way into the domestic pharmaceutical supply chain.

Secure Pharma Chain Blog recommends that all members of the supply chain utilize a variety of technologies to protect themselves from allowing these bogus medications into their inventories.

To learn more about authentication solutions that verify the contents of a product inside its unit-of-sale container, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

To read the entire Miami Herald article, visit:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/14/1628577/mail-clampdown-dangerous-drugs.html#ixzz0pFqOm5Pq.