Archive for March 2008
SFDA Exposes 25 Illegal Drug Selling Websites
China's State Food and Drug Administration has exposed 25 websites that have been involved in illegal selling of medicines. These websites include the fake websites of the Diabetes Treatment Center of China TCM Higher Medical Institute, the Diabetes Treatment Center of Chinese Herbal Medicine Research Institute, China Diabetes Recovery Website, International Beijing Chinese Herbal Medicine…
[...]Safe Alternatives for Reducing Healthcare Spending
Healthcare spending and prices are on the rise—again. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates that overall healthcare spending in America will reach $4.3 trillion annually by 2017. Given that healthcare costs are increasing at nearly three times the rate of inflation, it's no wonder Americans are seeking ways to keep their healthcare costs low.
FDA pinpoints contaminant in Baxter’s heparin
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. health regulators said on Wednesday they have identified a contaminant found in batches of Baxter International Inc's blood-thinner heparin that were linked to serious reactions and deaths. Food and Drug Administration officials said they are trying to determine whether the chemical — over-sulfated chondroitin sulfate — was purposely or inadvertently added…
[...]Three arrested for smuggling fake medicine from China
SEOUL, March 18 (Yonhap) — Police arrested three men on Tuesday for allegedly smuggling fake high blood pressure medicine from China into South Korea, triggering a nationwide alert over China's thriving and potentially life-threatening drug counterfeiting industry. The smugglers partnered with an unlicensed Chinese supplier in Yantai, Shandong Province in northeastern China, to produce a…
[...]Pleasant Grove couple get probation in Viagra case
A Utah County couple probably found it a hard pill to swallow when federal agents busted them for distributing fake Viagra and Cialis for a Hong Kong-based counterfeit drug operation. On Monday federal prosecutors cut them a break, sparing them prison time, in exchange for helping them with their investigation, which led to the bust…
[...]Ghana: Counterfeit Diabetic Drugs On the Market
The proliferation of counterfeit drugs on the global market and easy availability via online pharmacies is an increasing problem. The makers of counterfeit drugs have enjoyed and profited from loopholes in a system designed to deliver healthy medicines to those in need. The rising cost of prescription medications and the ubiquitous presence of online and…
[...]EU launches public consultation on counterfeit drugs
Tainted Blood Drug to Face Import Tests
China arrests leaders of fake drug ring
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese authorities have arrested 10 people they said were responsible for making and selling fake drugs in eastern Jiangsu Province, state media reported on Friday. "The fake drug ring penetrated 14 provinces across the country and had dozens of underground paths of distribution selling human albumin," Xinhua News Agency quoted provincial officials…
[...]Brian Liang: How to crack down on counterfeit drugs from China
If hundreds of Americans were poisoned after ingesting counterfeit drugs from China, uproar would follow. Voters would demand a ban on Chinese pharmaceutical imports. U.S. lawmakers might feel obliged to enact one. This scenario is less far-fetched than it sounds. Last year, two American and three Australian children were hospitalized after swallowing Aqua Dots, popular…
[...]