Washington Post: US Crackdown Targets Counterfeit Drugs

Fake medicines are a growing enterprise. In a November 20th article in the Washington Post they give out excellent statistics and report on an international law enforcement effort, code named Pangea that we have blogged about several times recently.

Operation Pangea conducted organized raids on five continents to combat counterfeit drugs.

In the U.S. the crackdown uncovered 700 alleged packages of fake or suspicious prescription drugs including Viagra, Vicodin, and Claritin, and shut down 90 alleged rogue online pharmacies. The international operation took down 72 Web sites, seized nearly 1,000 packages and found more than 167,000 suspected illicit and counterfeit pills. Some may have as much as three times more of an active ingredient than is typically prescribed; others may be placebos.

According to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, a trade group, Americans spent $254 billion on prescription drugs last year, up 1.8 percent from 2007.

The increase of internet pharmacies has given rise to rogue pharmacies posing as legitimate sites. One site under federal investigation for selling erectile dysfunction medications like Viagra and Cialis states that it is headquartered in Canada, has a warehouse in India and is licensed to sell in the U.S. through Minnesota. However, the website is registered in China and is hosted in Russia.

These sites are very hard to track and the Food and Drug Administration discourages consumers from purchasing medication online except through Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice (VIPP) pharmacies, which are certified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABAP). The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy maintains a list of roughly 4,000 online pharmacies it says are questionable.

The global crackdown involved a half a dozen U.S. agencies and 24 countries in a week long intensive sweep. "For the criminals, at least," said Richard Halverson, unit chief at the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, "we're telling them that everybody's looking."

To view the entire article visit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/20/AR2009112002772.html.

Counterfeit Medicines - Filled With Empty Promises

You can avoid counterfeit medicine by purchasing only from U.S. state-licensed pharmacies. The following is a guide that appears online at www.fda.gov regarding what steps healthcare consumers should use in protecting themselves from counterfeit medications:

While counterfeit medicines are not as common in the United States as in other parts of the world, you must take an active role in managing your medicines to ensure you’re not at risk. Here are some important facts about counterfeit medicine from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Counterfeit medicines are fake or copycat medicines. They may:

• be contaminated
• contain the wrong active ingredients (the formula that makes the medicine work)
• be made with the wrong amount of ingredients
• contain no active ingredients at all
• be packaged in phony packaging.

Medicines that are counterfeit may not help the condition the medicine was intended to treat and may lead to dangerous side effects. How can you avoid counterfeits?

• Purchase ONLY from state-licensed pharmacies that are located in the United States, where FDA and state authorities can assure the quality of drug manufacturing, packaging, distribution and labeling. This way, you know your medicine is coming from a reputable source, and you can get help if you have any problems with your medicine. If you buy over the Internet:


• Check to see if a pharmacy is licensed, is in good standing, and is located in the United States. Contact your local state board of pharmacy or the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) at http://www.nabp.net or 1-847-698-6227, or
• Check to see if an Internet pharmacy site has the VIPPS Seal, the seal of the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites Accreditation Program. This program was established by the NABP to help protect you and guide you through Internet pharmacy shopping. Legitimate pharmacies that carry the VIPPS Seal are listed at http://www.nabp.net/vipps/consumer/listall.asp.


• Know your medicine. Any time you get a prescription refilled, check the color, texture,
• taste and shape of the medicine. Anything different? Talk to your pharmacist.
• Give your doctor and pharmacist a complete list of all medicines (over-the-counter and prescription) that you use. They will also want to know what dietary supplements you use, including vitamins and herbals.

Slim to None Chance for Unsuspecting Prescription Purchaser

A young British woman tragically died one day after starting a diet prescription she purchased online. Self-conscious about her weight she turned to the same destination many consumers with embarrassing conditions do – the internet pharmacy.

The lure of the internet pharmacy is anonymity... But, that is its danger also! These online stores do not always follow the same regulations and precautions as the brick and mortar drug stores do. They often do not require prescriptions or ask for current medications, and sometimes, as in this case, sell banned or unapproved medications.

A report by The European Alliance for Access to Safe Medicines (EAASM) stated that three out of five drugs purchased online are fakes and consumers were putting their health at risk when using them. Other disturbing statistics disclosed were:

• 95.6% of online pharmacies researched are operating illegally.
• 94% of websites do not have a named, verifiable pharmacist.
• Over 90% of websites supply prescription-only medicines without a prescription.
• 86% of online 'pharmacy approval' stamps are fake.

In this particular case, young 26-year-old Selena Walrond, from Croydon in South London was just looking for a slimmer version of herself. From a Chinese website she purchase DNP or dinitrophenol, a fat burning chemical which boast an increase of 50% in metabolic rate which can result in a 10 – 12 pound weight loss in just 8 days. The following day, Selena was found with a racing pulse and feverish. She was rushed to the hospital by her mother and died of cardiac arrest.

DNP is as dangerous as it is effective – making it one of the first drugs to be banned in the U.S. by The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) back in 1938 and it has never been approved in the United Kingdom (UK). The drugs side effects include sweats, insomnia, cataracts, and death.

Beware -- sometimes when a deal sounds too good to be true, it is and the costs can be more than you even imagined…..