October 7, 2025: PSM shares prescription drug freight fraud findings with Democratic governors
Major Stories
PSM Executive Director Shabbir Safdar is speaking at the Democratic Governors Association this week to discuss the threat of unregulated prescription drugs smuggled into the U.S. Our research shows that over seven million starting doses of tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Zepbound) were shipped into the U.S. by non-FDA registered companies in June and July 2025.
Read our September Prescription Drug Freight Fraud Report to learn what else made it over the border.
Domestic News
Colorado set an upper payment limit on a drug that treats autoimmune diseases.
Colorado’s Prescription Drug Affordability Review Board approved an upper payment limit for Enbrel, a treatment for autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and plaque psoriasis, on Friday. The policy decision caps the price Colorado patients and insurers will pay for the drug without capping the price pharmacies pay wholesalers to stock the drug. Our recent post outlines how this endangers independent pharmacies, and may impede patient access to the medicine.
Pill presses
A federal jury in Missouri indicted a high school baseball coach for alleged fentanyl and methamphetamine drug trafficking. A search of his residence yielded meth, fentanyl in capsule and powder form, firearms, cash, a pill press, and drug paraphernalia.
A seventh person pleaded guilty for her role in a St. Louis, Missouri-based drug ring. Investigators seized fentanyl capsules, meth, a pill press, digital scales, fentanyl powder and a drug ledger from a home associated with the ring in January 2024.
Legislation
Keep up with state legislation in the areas of pill presses, prescription drug affordability boards, and drug importation.
International News
India reported more pediatric cough syrup deaths. The BBC outed medical providers unsafely supplying Botox to patients.
Eleven children have died in the Indian states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have died after consuming one of two brands of cough syrup. Authorities have not yet tested the medicines but the deaths resemble those of hundreds of Uzbek, Gambian and Indonesian children who took cough syrup adulterated with industrial solvents in 2022.
Meanwhile, authorities in Gujarat, India dismantled a call center and drug manufacturer that sold counterfeit treatments for erectile dysfunction, weight loss or diabetes, and authorities in Uttar Pradesh are investigating a network of fake companies that sold ₹ 710 million (over $8 million) in counterfeit drugs.
How did fake botox sicken U.S. patients in 2024? Watch
The BBC reported safety violations concerning Botox in the United Kingdom. Its undercover researchers recorded a nurse and pharmacist illegally selling Botox without patient exams, and a man falsely claiming to be a doctor selling unapproved Korean botulinum toxin and prescription weight-loss drugs. The investigation comes after 28 English patients came down with botulism after receiving fake Botox shots last June. Similar cases happened in Australia in January, and in the U.S. in 2024.