ICE: Chinese Counterfeit Drug Distributor Sentenced to Prison

Chinese national convicted of dealing in counterfeit drugs in Texas sentenced to prison and deportation.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a press release on November 15th detailing the sentence of 12 months and a day in prison for conspiring to distribute counterfeit pharmaceuticals, and trafficking in pharmaceuticals with false labeling and counterfeit trademarks to Kum Leung Chow.

The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno, Southern District of Texas.

Kum Leung Chow, aka Lawrence Chow, 59, pleaded guilty to the federal charges on June 28 and sentenced on Monday to 12 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt. Chow was arrested on Jan. 27 and has been in federal custody since that date and will remain in custody to serve out his sentence. Chow is subject to deportation after he completes his sentence.

The ICE HSI investigation began in January 2009 and revealed that Chow used a Hong Kong-based company named Kingdom International Enterprises LTD to obtain and distribute counterfeit Viagra and Cialis pharmaceutical drugs in the United States. Viagra and Cialis are prescription drugs that are FDA-approved and used to treat erectile dysfunction. They are registered trademarks on the principal register in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Viagra is manufactured and distributed exclusively by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, while Cialis is manufactured and distributed exclusively by Eli Lilly.

Chow offered boxes containing four Viagra tablets and boxes containing eight Cialis tablets for $10 a box on two Internet websites. The retail cost for each Viagra tablet is about $20, while each Cialis tablet is about $15.20. Working in an undercover capacity, ICE agents purchased about 1,120 Viagra tablets and about 360 Cialis tablets from Chow via the Internet on March 25, 2009, and April 28, 2009. Shipping documents accompanying the pharmaceuticals indicated they were exported from mainland China and Hong Kong.

The pharmaceuticals were later analyzed by the trademark holders and the FDA Forensic Chemistry Center which indicated the pharmaceuticals were counterfeit. These counterfeit pharmaceutical products may have harmed the public if law enforcement were not involved in monitoring the Internet.

Chow has been in federal custody since he was arrested Jan. 27; he will remain in custody to serve out his sentence.

The investigation of Chow was conducted by agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel Louis, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted the case.

Continued enhanced enforcement is critical in dealing with the deadly criminal act of counterfeit medications.

All stakeholders of the pharmaceutical supply chain must take steps from bogus drugs ending up in their inventories.

To read the entire ICE Press Release, visit: http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1011/101115houston.htm

To learn about technologies that can detect fraudulent and counterfeit drugs inside their sealed container, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

Eli Lilly: Efforts to Stop Counterfeit Medications

"The private sector must stand ready to partner with the public sector in tackling this problem."

Lilly Pad, a new corporate blog from Eli Lilly, posted a feature on September 13th written by Amy O’Connor regarding counterfeit medications.

Ms. O’Conner blogs about the Eli Lilly perspective on counterfeiting and cites some of the recent articles in the media regarding this deadly act.

Highlighted in the blog:

• A common misperception is that counterfeits and generics are the same thing. The counterfeiters can make significant profits from generics, and in some cases more profit if there is a higher volume of demand. To categorize them as such is unfair to the world’s generic drug producers. Legitimate products, either branded or generic, must go through stringent regulatory approval processes before going on the market. In most countries, both generic and branded drug makers are bound by Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) that are designed to ensure product potency, safety and efficacy.

• Lilly remains committed to patient safety in the face of this growing problem. Our company has initiated a broad range of actions to aggressively protect our patients against the exploitative actions of criminal counterfeiters. This includes the addition of enhanced Anti-Counterfeiting technologies for Lilly products and packaging in our retail product portfolio, and changes in our distribution system.

• We actively partner with government, non-government organizations, and trade associations to strengthen, enact, and enforce Anti-Counterfeiting laws, and to raise awareness among governments and with patients. The private sector must stand ready to partner with the public sector in tackling this problem. However, without more rigorous international cooperation to improve regulations, laws and penalties related to counterfeiting medicines and also enforce them, the consequences for worldwide patient safety will be serious.

Secure Pharma Chain endorses Eli Lilly’s continued commitment to combating this deadly global epidemic and encourages other members of the pharmaceutical supply chain (manufacturers, distributors and dispensers) to deploy technologies and solutions to protect their brands and consumers.

Secure Pharma Chain also welcomes Lilly Pad to the world of corporate blogs and looks forward to following and reading its contributions and insights.

To read the Lilly Pad blog, visit: http://lillypad.lilly.com/public-policy/efforts-to-stop-counterfeit-medications.

To learn about anti-counterfeiting technologies, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

FreightWatch International: 2010 Bi-Annual Cargo Theft Report

FreightWatch International recently released its 2010 Bi-Annual Cargo Theft report.

As it relates to pharmaceutical cargo theft, FreightWatch is reporting the number of incidents has declined so far this year from last. However, the the overall volume or value of each incident and sophistication/organization has increased.

This seems to be exemplified by the huge Eli Lilly warehouse theft earlier this year where thieves stole $76 million in pharmaceuticals in a very sophisticated burglary.

Here are some of the highlights of the bi-annual report:

• In the first six months of 2010, cargo theft recorded by FreightWatch has increased 5% over the same time period in 2009. Additionally, there have been several noteworthy trends that differ from cargo theft recorded in the previous year.

• First, multi-trailer losses are becoming increasingly common. Cargo theft gangs are stealing two, three and even four trailers at a time, most commonly from terminals where trailers are more likely loaded with similar product. FreightWatch views this as the natural progression for cargo theft gangs, as they moved from "pot luck" style cargo theft to active targeting; now gangs are seeking a better return for their efforts, hitting multiple trailers at once while incurring the same level of risk.

• Second, Food and Drinks replaced Electronics as the commodity type most targeted by cargo theft gangs over the period examined. Electronic theft has decreased by 23% in the first half of 2010. As a point of comparison, at this same time last year, pharmaceutical thefts were down 50% over the previous year's rate, while the commodity group ended with a slight increase in volume for 2009.

• Third, in 2009, warehouse burglaries were up 50% over the previous year's rate, but slowed significantly through the rest of the year. FreightWatch recorded 12 warehouse burglaries in the first half of 2010, a decrease in the overall rate of incidents. However, due to a $76 million dollar loss in Enfield, Connecticut, the largest cargo theft incident on record, the total estimated loss rose sharply from $38 million in 2009 to $102 million in 2010.

The rise of the sophistication and organization of pharmaceutical cargo theft should trouble all within the pharmaceutical supply chain. This criminal act within the vital health care chain is evolving beyond random acts of theft and threatens the ability of all its members to protect their inventories, brand and safety of the consumer.

Secure Pharma Chain encourages all members of the pharmaceutical supply chain to utilize technologies to protect their inventories and authenticate all products within it.

To download this report in its entirety, visit: http://www.freightwatchintl.com.

BusinessWeek: Pfizer Taking the Financial Spoils of Counterfeiters

Simeon Bennett in the July 8th BusinessWeek, writes about Pfizer going after the financial spoils of convicted counterfeiters.

Overall this is an excellent encapsulation of a new tactic of Big Pharma of attacking counterfeiters financially while detailing with excellent statistics and examples of the overall danger of this issue.

Initially, the story details the case of Martin Hickman, who made a fortune and is now one of the first successes of Pfizer’s new strategy.

Hickman between 2003 and 2007 sold more that $8.9 million of bogus Viagra and other drugs via 150 websites according to Britain’s MHRA.

Hickman used the proceeds of his counterfeiting business to by a high end flat in Chelsea, a villa in Spain, Bentley, Range Rover and hundreds of thousands of dollars of jewelry.

According to Pfizer when Hickman was finally caught in 2007 for his illegal activities he was sentenced to only 3 months in jail for contempt of court and ordered to stop advertising Viagra on his websites. This lax penalty forced Pfizer to employ other tactics to fight counterfeiters.

Highlights from the BusinessWeek piece on Hickman and the Pfizer strategy are:

• “The point is to make them realize that there’s no sense from a business perspective in counterfeiting our products, because if we find you, we’re taking your money away,” says John P. Clark, a 55-year-old U.S. law enforcement veteran who now serves as New York-based Pfizer’s chief security officer.
• The spoils of Hickman’s crimes helped settle a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by the world’s largest drugmaker three years ago. It’s the biggest example of a new approach Pfizer is taking to fight counterfeiting of prescription drugs, an industry that’s almost doubled to $75 billion over five years, according to the New York-based Center for Medicine in the Public Interest.
• Pfizer, whose erectile dysfunction pill Viagra is one of the most copied medicines, once relied on local authorities and criminal courts to hunt down offenders. Now it’s taken matters into its own hands, hiring former U.S. customs officials, FBI agents, Turkish narcotics experts and Hong Kong police to hunt counterfeiters. In China, they’re tracking fakes to the source, raiding derelict warehouses for evidence of illegal drug-making. In the U.K., they’re using civil courts to hit fake pill peddlers where it hurts most.
• Previously, the company would refer cases of counterfeiting to regulators and police for criminal prosecution. Civil suits allow Pfizer to conduct investigations and raids itself with a judge’s authorization, according to Clark.
• In a second criminal prosecution in June last year, Hickman pleaded guilty to six counts of selling and supplying fake and unlicensed medicines and money laundering, and was sentenced to two years’ jail, according to the MHRA. The regulator is now taking legal action to seize his assets, William Mach, a spokesman for the MHRA, said in an e-mail.

As it relates to the industry and the scope of the issue, Mr. Bennett’s piece includes:

• Pfizer isn’t alone in taking civil action. Eli Lilly & Co., the maker of the impotence drug Cialis, investigates phony pill makers with Pfizer because their products are often copied together, said Bruce Longbottom, legal counsel for Indianapolis- based Lilly.
• “The civil action gives the financial deterrent where they’re actually hit in the pocket book,” Longbottom said in a telephone interview. “We do think that sends a message that’s a little bit different from what a criminal action might give us.”
• International criminal syndicates are increasingly turning to prescription drugs because they offer higher returns and lower risks than narcotics, according to Aline Plancon, an Interpol officer who works with police worldwide to investigate counterfeiters.
• “These people mastered the technology of making pills, because they are doing narcotics,” she said. “They know that the risks of being punished are low compared to the benefit.” Plancon estimates that $1,000 spent making heroin can earn a return of $20,000. The same investment in copied medicines can earn as much as $450,000.
• The global trade in counterfeit drugs will rise to $90 billion by 2015, according to the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says it’s hard to put a value on the problem because of “a paucity of reliable data.” Trade in all counterfeit and pirated goods rose to about $250 billion in 2007 from about $200 billion in 2005, the OECD estimated in November.
• There were 2,003 discoveries of counterfeit, illegally diverted or stolen medicines worldwide last year, compared with 195 reported in 2002, according to the Pharmaceutical Security Institute, a Vienna, Virginia-based nonprofit organization that monitors fake medicines.

Bennett's backgrond on the human toll of counterfeiting include:

• Counterfeits take a toll on human life. Fake medicines against malaria and tuberculosis alone are responsible for about 700,000 deaths a year, the London-based International Policy Network estimated in a report last year.
• “A mother who buys fake medicine to treat malaria does not know that she is paying for her own death or that of her sick child,” Jacques Chirac, a former president of France, said in a speech to the World Customs Organization’s council on June 24. Chirac’s charitable foundation is working to combat fake drugs.
• In the U.K., Pfizer says its civil suits have reduced the availability of fake drugs over the Internet. The drugmaker says it has sued at least seven other counterfeiters there, and last month settled its first civil suit in the U.S.
• “Even if you have a few bucks, we’re going to take it,” Clark says. “It’s not going to be there in the Caymans, so you can’t turn around and just tap your bank account and start the operation over again.”

Secure Pharma Chain Blog is excited about Pfizer’s and Pharma's new strategy to go after the proceeds of this criminal act and encourages all members of the supply chain to take further proactive steps including the deployment of anti-counterfeiting technologies to interdict this deadly threat before it reaches consumers.

To learn more about anti-counterfeiting technology: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

To read the entire BusinessWeek article, visit: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-08/pfizer-spies-find-spanish-villa-gold-rolex-in-fake-viagra-bust.html.

Chinese Counterfeit Cancer Drugs Impact Consumers and Pharmaceutical Firms

While counterfeit pharmaceuticals have been prevalent in China for many years, China’s food and drug regulatory system has once again drawn attention to itself with the recent discovery that large amounts of fake anti-cancer drugs are flooding the market.

In an article written by Michelle Yu of the Epoch Times from June 22nd, Ms. Yu outlines yet another counterfeit drug scandal involving bogus cancer drugs that seem to permeate within China.

According to Ms. Yu’s Epoch Times article:

· Chinese authorities announced on June 12 that a Chinese-American person with a surname of Ding, along with three accomplices, had been arrested for manufacturing and selling fake anti-cancer drugs valued at US$4.4 million.

· Ding, 47, became an American citizen in 2003 after completing his postdoctoral studies abroad. He started selling counterfeit drugs in 2008, while serving as a general manager of a Hangzhou-based biopharmaceutical company.

· The counterfeits were sold through the Internet at one-tenth the price of the genuine products, which average around US$3,000 per bottle. The bogus anti-cancer drugs had been sold throughout at least eight provinces.

· The major counterfeited brands included Norvatis' leukemia drug Gleevec, Bayer's kidney cancer drug Nexavar, Astrazeneca's lung cancer drug Iressa, and Genentech's lung cancer drug Tarceva.

· There is speculation that Ding’s counterfeits account for only a small portion of the fake cancer drugs manufactured and sold in China and abroad.

· A spokeswoman for the Shanghai branch of the U.S.-based SciClone Pharmaceutical International drug company said that more than 20 percent of the company’s anti-cancer drug Thymosin Alpha-1 is counterfeit in the Chinese market, according to a May 26 report by China’s Southern Weekly. She added that counterfeits were found in government-owned drug stores.

Ms. Yu humanizes the scandal by telling the story of some of the victims of this counterfeit drug scandal:

· Among those that have been victimized by the counterfeits is Nanjing resident Geng, who spent thousands of dollars on Thymosin before realizing that the medication was having no effect. Geng purchased his medication from a state-certified drug store, Xinte.

· Tests conducted on the medication concluded the lot was counterfeit. Two members of Geng’s family who also took the counterfeit drug have since passed away.

· The same store’s stock supply of Alimta was also proven to be counterfeit by tests conducted by the brand’s manufacturer, Lilly LLC.

· Although pharmaceutical companies have reported these issues to China’s State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), the agency has a history of being lenient on distributors of the fake drug products.

The Epoch Times story includes the deep seeded issue of official corruption that continues to feed these deadly criminal acts:

· The SciClone Pharmaceutical spokeswoman said she traveled to Nanjing for the Xinte drugstore case. The company issued a written testimony against the distributor of the bogus medication, but the local SFDA witnesses claimed that the samples collected from the drugstore were, in fact, authentic.

· Shortly afterward, the drugstore’s license—which had been revoked—was reinstated, after the wife of the former store owner registered for a new license and subsequently reopened the store. Her husband has not been indicted or punished.

· Eight different pharmaceutical companies, including SciClone Pharmaceutical and Lilly, have consulted with Nanjing SFDA officials and also reported the case to higher authorities.

· Former head of the SFDA Zheng Xiaoyu was executed in 2007 after being accused by the state of taking bribes to license bogus drugs.

· Chinese citizens have been quick to point the finger at the corruption and inertia of the drug regulatory authorities.

With a country’s regulatory agency either unable or unwilling to combat the deadly crime of counterfeiting drugs it is incumbent upon the industry’s supply chain to protect their individual brands, the supply chain as a whole and their consumer from nefarious entities bent on destroying lives and businesses for profit alone.

Secure Pharma Chain Blog endorses that individual members of the supply chain utilize technology to combat the criminal act of fraudulent, adulterated and counterfeit drugs, specifically solutions that allow the user to authenticate that the material that they have within their inventories is safe and efficacious for the consumer.

To read the entire Epoch Times article, visit:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/37824/

To learn more about anti-counterfeit authentication technologies, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

MHRA Press Release: £150,000 Fake Drug Stash Seized in Sting Operation

MHRA, the United Kingdom’s agency responsible medicines and medical devices work, released a press announcement regarding a large seizure of counterfeit, unlicensed medicines and controlled drugs in London on June 9th.

The following is the Press Release from MHRA:

Counterfeit and unlicensed medicines, along with controlled drugs to the street value of approximately £150,000, were seized by the MHRA yesterday as part of a simultaneous raid on six locations across London, and two in Yorkshire with the assistance of local police.

Six people in the UK believed to be linked to a gang in Asia were arrested in connection with the illegal sale and supply of a range of medicinal products, most of which are suspected to be counterfeit.

Information was initially passed to the MHRA by pharmaceutical manufacturers Pfizer, Lilly and Sanofi-Aventis.

MHRA Head of Intelligence Nimo Ahmed said, “Large boxes containing counterfeit and unlicensed medicines together with packaging, computers and cash were seized and the suspect medicines will now be sent to government laboratories to assess their authenticity.

“The products seized relate to treatment for depression, erectile dysfunction, as well as painkillers, sedatives and injectable anabolic steroids.

“At this stage it is suspected that these medicines would have been supplied illegally over the internet.”

Mr. Ahmed said people should be vigilant when buying medicines online and should only do so from registered websites that clearly display a contact name, number, the logo from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB), and from premises that are registered with the RPSGB. Buying medicines from unregistered websites is dangerous as people would not know what they are actually taking. The dosages could be either too high or too low, or worse, the tablet could contain harmful ingredients.

“Better still, the safest way to obtain Prescription Only Medicines is from a ‘bricks and mortar’ pharmacy following a consultation with a GP or a healthcare professional,” he said.

“Those involved in this type of criminality do not care about your health. They are only in it for one reason, and that is to make money.”

The MHRA are grateful for the assistance provided by the Metropolitan Police, West Yorkshire Police, South Yorkshire Police and the pharmaceutical manufacturers in this case.

This seizure is an excellent example of the continued proliferation of counterfeit medications within developed countries and sophisticated pharmaceutical supply chains. Since 2006 the MHRA has seized more than £6 million worth of counterfeit medicines.

Secure Pharma Chain Blog endorses continued regulation and enforcement related to fraudulent, adulterated and counterfeit medications and encourages all within the supply chain, including regulatory agencies to deploy solutions and technologies to protect their inventories and consumers from the deadly effects of this criminal act.

To read the entire Press Release on the MHRA website, visit: http://www.mhra.gov.uk/NewsCentre/Pressreleases/CON084731.

To learn more about anti-counterfeiting technologies, visit: 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.

Hartford Courant: Rx Warehouse and Cargo Thefts on the Rise

In the March 28th issue of the Hartford Courant, Janice Posada reports in excellent detail about the rising trend of prescription drugs thefts and the rapid emergence of the lucrative criminal activity of cargo and warehouse theft of prescription drugs.

Presumably the break-in of the Eli Lilly & Company warehouse in Enfield, Connecticut, where over $75 million dollars of prescription drugs (without taking any narcotics and painkillers) was the impetus behind this story. In this act, the thieves made off with pallets of anti-cancer, schizophrenia, depression and prescription drugs to sell in foreign or black markets.

Until this most recent incident, many were not aware of this entire subset of criminal activity. The black market for stolen brand name prescription drugs has become one of the more lucrative parts of the illegal drug trade, once the stolen product is secured it can be shipped to a foreign country, re-sold into the legitimate supply chain or re-packaged for sale directly to consumers for extraordinary profit.

In the article, Ms. Posada details the financial motivation, sophistication, health risk to consumers and the easy money to be made in the theft and resale of prescription drugs. There were some great quotes in article from several industry and regulatory experts.

Marvin D. Shepherd a Professor at the University of Texas College Of Pharmacy at Austin and an expert in prescription drug theft and diversion:

• The theft of prescription drugs, from blood thinners to insulin, "has exploded in the last five years," The types of drugs thieves go after also has changed. Until recently, the most sought-after drugs were narcotics and prescription painkillers,”


• "It used to be small-scale stuff where some guy walked into a pharmacy with a gun looking for OxyContin. Now they're looking for brand-name prescription drugs.”


• "A couple years ago in Florida, they were stealing Procrit. From the records they found, police estimated the thieves made $40 million."


• "We haven't found a lot of these stolen drugs, which leads me to believe they're either going out of the country or they're being cleverly relabeled."

John Burke, President of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, a nonprofit group that coordinates drug theft investigations comments on the Lilly theft:

• "These are very expensive drugs, it’s likely these thieves didn't just drop in and start grabbing stuff. It's almost as though they had an order for it. It's too well-planned. This is the biggest heist I can think of in many, many years.”


• "They'll make at least $20 million on the black market with these drugs. That's my guess. If a pill sells for $10, they'll get $3 or $4 for it."


• "It's all about the money. These drugs won't be peddled on the street in the same way you would peddle addictive drugs.


• "There are lots of options. They could go to a foreign market. They may be distributed by an unscrupulous wholesaler to U.S. pharmacies, in particular, independent pharmacies."


• "If you're a wholesaler and you get these drugs for an extraordinarily lower price than what you normally pay for it, and re-sell it to a pharmacy, you can make a lot of money. In fact, thieves are likely to make more money from the sale of stolen cancer drugs and antidepressants than from a similar cache of narcotics, such as OxyContin or Vicodin.

Ilisa Bernstein, the FDA's Director of Pharmacy Affairs, comments in the article about the theft of prescription medicines, over-the-counter drugs and medical devices:

• "Cargo and warehouse theft is an increasing problem that threatens the public health. And is one that the "FDA and law enforcement cannot solve ... alone. Participants in the supply chain must step to the plate and ensure that their security practices are as solid as they can be."


• Stolen drugs can deteriorate or lose their medicinal properties if they're improperly stored, creating a public health threat. And thieves do not abide by the storage recommendations for drug products.”


• "Patients can be harmed if these products are not stored or handled properly, or have been tampered with. We have received adverse reports of patients taking stolen insulin who could not control their blood sugar. The insulin probably was not stored and handled properly and lost its potency.”

This is an excellent article for those not in-the-know as it relates to this major criminal issue within the pharmaceutical supply chain. XStream Systems endorses the concept of verification and authentication at each step of the pharmaceutical supply chain to combat theft, fraud, adulteration and counterfeit medications and protect the healthcare consumer.


To read the article in the Hartford Courant, visit: http://www.courant.com/news/health/hc-stolen-drugs-0328.artmar28,0,5569692,full.story.

Eli Lilly Loses $75M in Warehouse Burglary

In an update to a blog posted to Securing Pharma Chain Blog, more details are becoming public in the reported burglary of a drug warehouse in Enfield, Connecticut on early Sunday morning.

The warehouse, operated by Eli Lilly & Company, lost approximately $75 million dollars in prescription drugs after thieves scaled a wall onto the roof of the building and rappelled inside.

The thieves made off with enough drugs to fill at least one tractor trailer and apparently were loading pallets of product into waiting vehicles at the site's loading dock for over an hour.

The suspects disabled phone lines, back up security systems and access programs as they made their way into the building. Apparently they were aided in their efforts by a strong rainstorm, the leading edge of a nor’easter, which help conceal much of their activity.

The stolen drugs are described by a Lilly spokesperson as “a mixture of pharmaceutical products” including Prozac, Cymbalta and Zyprexa. No narcotics or pain medications were stored in this warehouse.

Federal authorities have been brought into the investigation to assist State and Local law enforcement.

The theft is being described as the work of a well planned, sophisticated and organized criminal group.

The issue of pharmaceutical theft energizes the need for material screening of products within the supply chain, from manufacturer to dispenser, to properly protect consumers everywhere.

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

Pharmaceutical Cargo Theft Emerges as a Organized Criminal Activity in 2009

In an excellent online article written by Nick Basta in Pharmaceutical Commerce, he explores the expanding issue of pharmaceutical cargo theft and the ongoing efforts to fight against this problem which poses a serious threat to US healthcare consumers. This issue has become more public in 2009.

Basta writes an overview of the issue and covers various Pharma companies, transportation industry solutions and interviews various industry experts.

Highlighting the article were some of the more significant pharmaceutical cargo thefts in 2009:

• Almost 36,000 cartons of albuterol sulfate vials from Dey L.P. (Napa, CA) stolen in early August in McKinney, TX. Dey sent out an announcement advising that “pharmacists are encouraged to verify pedigree documentation for all purchases of Dey-labeled” albuterol.

• Teva Pharmaceuticals lost almost 1,000 cartons of Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) in a theft in April; Copaxone is a temperature-controlled product that must be stored below 74° F and out of sunlight; Teva had to recall the remainder of that lot.


• Novo Nordisk lost 129,000 vials of Levemir (recombinant-DNA insulin) in a North Carolina robbery in the spring. In June, it and FDA announced that the product—which requires refrigerated storage—had shown up in a medical center in Houston; subsequently FDA reported that it “has received multiple reports of patients who suffered an adverse event due to poor control of glucose levels after using a vial from one of the stolen lots.” An August followup reported that the stolen insulin was still showing up and that only 2% of the vials had been accounted for.


• The biggest-value recent theft—which didn’t produce an FDA alert because the product was recovered within minutes of being stolen, occurred along the PA Turnpike in May. An Eli Lilly shipment of insulin valued at $37 million was stolen (along with the truck) at a turnpike rest stop, but the truck was located a few miles down the road by quick-acting state troopers; the shipment was intact and allowed to proceed, according to industry sources.

To read the entire online story, Cargo Theft Emerges as New Biopharm Worry, in Pharmaceutical Commerce, visit: http://www.pharmaceuticalcommerce.com/frontEnd/1345-pharmaceutical_logistics_theft_in_transit_cargo_security_coalition.html.

To learn more about XStream Systems, onsite supply chain material screening solutions, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

Two Minnesota Men Accused of Distributing Counterfeit Drugs

Two Minnesota men, Nicholas Lundsten, 26, of Spring Lake Park, and Patrick Barron, 29, of Fridley were charged Wednesday for distributing misbranded medication. The pair sent 10,419 pills labeled as Viagra; 3,600 pills labeled as Cialis; 1,582 pills labeled as Propecia; and 340 pills labeled as Levitra.

Viagra is manufactured by Pfizer; Cialis by Eli Lilly; and Levitra by Bayer; all treat erectile dysfunction. Propecia, manufactured by Merck, treats male pattern hair loss.

Lundsten and Barron are also accused of illegally importing about 40,000 pills of alprazolam — used to control anxiety disorders — and about 27,000 pills of sibutramine — an appetite suppressant used to treat obesity — into the United States. Both are classified as "Schedule IV" controlled substances.

The indictments are the result of an investigation by the FDA, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

If convicted, Lundsten and Barron face up to six years in prison.

To view entire article, visit: www.startribune.com.