Chinese Court Jails Four for Fake Medicine

Chinese gang sentenced to jail for selling expired and bogus medications.

According to a story in the Shanghai Daily, four members of a group that sold expired medicine and produced fake prescription drugs without a license were given jail sentences ranging from eleven months to five and a half years yesterday.

According to the Shanghai Daily story:

• The drugs produced by the gang were tested and found to be fake. Fortunately, none of them were sold thanks to quick action by the police.

• The Putuo District People's Court heard that the gang collected expired medicine around the city at low prices and then sold them outside Shanghai, after changing the production and expiration dates on the labels.

• Zhang Dezhi, 45, from Liaoning Province, and Zhang Wenzhong, 48, from Anhui Province, who do not have licenses to sell or produce drugs, began to collect medicines around the city last year, the court heard.

• Police seized more than 3,100 boxes of medicine in Zhang Dezhi's home in Shanghai on February 3 and intercepted more than 20,000 boxes on their way to Shen-yang. They were estimated to be worth around 550,000 yuan (US$82,614).

• Police later confiscated medicine valued at 230,000 yuan from Wang's home in Shenyang, and drugs in Zhang Wenzhong's residence in Shanghai valued at more than 400,000 yuan.

• In addition to collecting and selling the drugs, Zhang Dezhi also produced fake drugs by buying in cheap and inferior medicines and attaching false labels of more expensive brands.

Hopefully this is a sign that as reported previously in Secure Pharma Chain, Chinese officials are becoming proactive and more diligent in aggressively prosecuting a lethal crime that impacts the lives of their population and that they export around the world.

China and India have become the epicenter of a global counterfeit drug issue that is worth billions annually and is estimated to kill and impact the health of millions.

To read the entire Shanghai Daily story, visit: http://english.eastday.com/e/101126/u1a5572554.html

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

Counterfeit Drugs are No Joke - Counterfeit and Substandard Cancer Drugs Sold to Consumers in India

Counterfeit drugs have a serious impact on the public’s health. As those who produce the spurious drugs have become more sophisticated and organized, they have stepped up their inventory to include life-saving medications, thus intensifying the dangers to the consumer.

Reported in The Times of India this week, The State Health Department in India has uncovered a counterfeit drug ring where crucial anti-cancer drugs have been illegally manufactured, re-bottled, and sold after their expiration dates.

The initial investigation has proved that these products have reached the public and have been consumed. Officials involved in the investigation have not determined yet if any deaths have resulted in the distribution of these spurious drugs due partly to the expanse of their distribution.

Officials have stated that the criminal ring posed as at least four legitimate manufacturing facilities and those manufacturers have denied any part in the production of these medicines.

The investigation is ongoing as officials examine the numerous outlets that sell anti-cancer drugs.

FDA says drug stores sold expired medications

The Medicine Shoppe, a subsidiary of Cardinal Health (one of the “Big Three Distributors”), sold expired or presumed fake prescriptions to their customers. Granted this was just two of their stores located in Baltimore, but it does make one wonder – How did this happen?

Especially troubling is that this may just be the beginning. In Europe, officials are seeing an upward trend of expired product simply being relabeled to appear good. It is estimated that 10% of medicines sold there are counterfeited or adulterated.

The Medicine Shoppe's suspect medications and the conditions they treat include:

• Lisinopril (20 milligrams) _ hypertension
• Guaifenesin/Dextromethorphan (600 mg and 1000 mg) _ cough
• Gabapentin (100 mg, 300 mg and 400 mg) _ epilepsy
• Metoprolol (50 mg) _ hypertension
• Nifedipine (30 mg) _ hypertension
• Diclofenac Sodium (30 mg) _ anti-inflammatory
• Glucophage (500 mg Extended Release) _ diabetes
• Glucovance (125 mg and 500 mg) _ diabetes
• Glipizide/Metformin (2.50 mg/250 mg) _ diabetes
• Furosemide (20 mg) _ diuretic
• Tamoxifen Citrate (10 mg) _ breast cancer
• Metformin HCl ER (500 mg) _ diabetes
• Calcitrol (0.25 micrograms) _ osteoporosis

It has long been assumed that if product was purchased straight from the manufacturer and/or one of the major distributors, that naturally, the medicine was pristine. However, these days that assumption, sadly, is no longer valid. This year alone, we have witnessed recalls from Baxter for adulterated heparin, Ranbaxy for counterfeit HIV medications, and NOW a major drug store chain for fake or expired prescriptions.

To view the full article from Associated Press, click here.


Consumers and health care professionals can report adverse events to the FDA's MedWatch program at 800-FDA-1088, by mail at MedWatch, HF-2, FDA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Md 20852-9787, or online at www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm.