Archive for 2010
Anti-counterfeiting Technology Could Help Governments Track Fake Drugs
Developing nations have struggled mightily with counterfeit drugs, like when 400 people in Nigeria, Haiti and Bangladesh died from taking a medication treated with wallpaper remover, and that is why anti-counterfeiting technologies can be important in preventing counterfeit drugs from entering the secure pharmaceutical supply chain. One such technology has been in use for diabetes…
[...]Edible Microtags: A New Anti-Counterfeiting Technology
While many anti-counterfeiting technologies focus on protecting consumers from counterfeit drugs through unique and hard-to-duplicate packaging, there is another way to ensure the authenticity of a medication: edible microtags. A number of companies have been working to develop this anti-counterfeiting technology after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released guidance on the matter last…
[...]Tiny Technology Could Stop Counterfeit Drugs
Ensuring that medications are authentic and not counterfeit drugs is essential for pharmaceutical companies to maintain patient safety. Now there is a new technology that appears to be able to do just that. Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, tiny chips that can be tracked, have been used to track animals in the agriculture industry to…
[...]Coustasse A, Arvidson C, Rutsohn P. Pharmaceutical counterfeiting and the RFID technology intervention. J Hosp Mark Public Relations. 2010 Jul;20(2):100-15
Both nationally and internationally, pharmaceutical counterfeiting has become a problem that is threatening economic stability and public health. The purpose of the present research study review was to analyze the scope and severity of pharmaceutical counterfeiting and to establish if the implantation of the Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) model can more efficiently be used…
[...]Chinese Search Engine Accused of Providing Links to Counterfeit Drugs
China’s state run television station recently accused Baidu, a Chinese search engine, of promoting counterfeit drugs by directing users to websites that sell fake medication. CCTV ran a report that claimed Baidu and other search engines were making money by promoting three websites that sell counterfeit drugs, according to Reuters. These sites have reportedly already…
[...]Student Pharmacists in Ghana Urged to Help Prevent Use of Counterfeit Drugs
Student pharmacists in Ghana were urged to accept work in rural communities to help ensure that people are not taking counterfeit drugs. In a speech to the Ghana Pharmaceutical Students Association, young pharmacists listened to a series of speeches entitled "Promoting National Growth and Development through the Campaign against Counterfeit Drugs, Ensuring Improved Rational Use…
[...]FDA Warns Consumers Not to Use Stolen Advair Inhalers
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning that a number of Advair Diskus inhalers that were stolen in 2009 have been found in some pharmacies and that consumers should not used the stolen products. The products were reported stolen from a GlaxoSmithKline warehouse near Richmond, Virginia, in August 2009. These recently…
[...]Identifying Counterfeit Drugs Part of New Malaria Research
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently announced that it will create 10 malaria centers around the world to study issues related to the disease, including new methods for identifying counterfeit drugs used to treat the illness. The NIAID, which is part of the National Institute of Health, will provide the centers…
[...]Illinois Man Accused of Selling Counterfeit Drugs
An Illinois man is currently facing charges that he sold counterfeit drugs. Wail T. Salem of Orland Park, Illinois, is accused of selling thousands of items that falsely bore the name of Pfizer Incorporated, a respected pharmaceutical company, according to the Chicago Tribune. It is believed that Salem made more than $100,000 through his alleged…
[...]Man to Forfeit $29 Million in Illegal Online Pharmacy Case
A Texas man was recently found guilty of running an illegal online pharmacy that distributed pain killers. From August 2000 to November 2007, David Allen Vogel, along with several others, operated an online pharmacy that sold millions of hydrocodone pills and other controlled drugs to people without a valid prescription, according to KFDM, a CBS…
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