Delhi Chief Seeks Total Intolerance

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit is working to develop capacity to fight fake drugs. According to The Times of India, Dikshit said the Delhi government is strengthening the state drug control department based upon recommendations made by Mashelkar Committee in a seminar entitled “Measures to Combat Counterfeit Drugs.” “I am concerned about the health of…

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Charges Dropped Against Marla Ahlgrimm

Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York dropped charges against Marla Ahlgrimm on November 5th without explanation. Ms. Ahlgrimm, a registered pharmacist, had been charged with counterfeit drug distribution along with a a Middleton, Wisconsin resident, Balbir Bhogal in September, reports the Associated Press in the Chicago Tribune. Ms. Ahlgrimm is a prominent…

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USP Building Database to Track Fake Meds

The U. S. Pharmacopeia (USP) is building a database of fake medications to support and share with regulators and non-governmental organizations targeted to launch in 2011. The database will provide regulators with the ability to monitor fake and substandard drug trends and better support enforcement actions. Patrick Lukulay, director of the Promoting the Quality of…

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FDA warns consumers not to use Vigor-25

This is a reprint of the FDA alert. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says Vigor-25, a product marketed as a natural dietary supplement to enhance male sexual performance, should not be purchased or used because it contains sildenafil, the active ingredient in the prescription drug Viagra.  Sildenafil may interact with prescription drugs known as…

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Mississippi Stores Selling Counterfeit Drugs Raided

On November 18, after a year-long law enforcement partnership between federal, state and local officials, approximately 30 federal search warrants were issued in Mississippi in search of counterfeit pharmaceuticals. A team of nearly 100 law enforcement agents participated in the operation, according to a press release from the Mississippi’s Attorney General’s Office. The operations involved…

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Ethiopia Builds Up Medicine Registration and Labs

Ethiopia is training new staff and building capacity to better evaluate the safety of drugs within its country’s borders by using laboratory quality management systems and learning to test for authenticity. In order to ensure the quality of the country’s essential medicines, Promoting the Quality of Medicines, a USAID program, has been working with the…

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China Announces Initiative to Monitor Search Engines for Counterfeit Drug Websites

The Chinese agency in charge of the fight against counterfeit drugs has announced a new initiative to crack down on the trafficking of illegal medications over the internet, according to the Global Times. The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) announced it new campaign at a press conference in Beijing. Wang Lifeng, the director of the…

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Chinese Citizen Sentenced in Texas for Selling Fake Drugs

A Chinese citizen in the US was recently sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison in Texas for selling counterfeit drugs. United States Attorney José Angel Moreno recently announced that Kum Leung Chow, who was also known as Lawrence Chow, will be sent to federal prison for "conspiring to distribute counterfeit pharmaceuticals…

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Malaria in Cambodia

Malaria patients near Thai-Cambodian border–By Talea Miller, Online NewsHour via Flickr.

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Fake Drugs Major Factor in New Malaria Strain, says WHO

In a newly published report on antimalarial drug efficacy and resistance, The World Health Organization (WHO) raised the alarm about a new strain of artemisinin resistant malaria in South East Asia. Scientists believe that fake and substandard malarial medications are a major factor in the development of new drug-resistant strains of malaria. WHO’s containment plan will provide free medication and care for those affected in order to prevent them from relying on counterfeit and substandard malarial medications.

“Efforts have also been made to stop the sale of counterfeit and substandard drugs, which are a major factor in the development of resistance,” states the report.

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