About The Partnership for Safe Medicines

Criminals make billions of dollars creating and selling counterfeit drugs around the world, and those products make their way into the United States. They duplicate the exact packaging, look and taste of the real thing. They can be difficult to detect, but detecting them is important. Counterfeit drugs can be a death sentence for the patients who end up taking them. Fake drugs deny patients treatment that can alleviate suffering and save lives, promote drug resistant strains of disease and may cause dangerous or deadly reactions to undeclared drug ingredients.

Comprised of more than 45 non-profit organizations, The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) is a public health group committed to the safety of prescription drugs and protecting consumers against counterfeit, substandard or otherwise unsafe medicines.

PSM follows a set of principles to support quality assurance programs and establish a drug distribution system that is without compromise. It is our hope that through these guidelines we can reduce the number of counterfeit drugs that defraud patients and deny them therapies that can alleviate suffering and save lives. Our principles include:

  • Unifying the fight against counterfeit drugs
  • Securing and protecting the pharmaceutical supply chain
  • Regulation of online sellers

Our members are dedicated to protecting the safety of American consumers by curbing the manufacturing and sale of dangerous counterfeit drugs. Our goal is for all consumers to be aware that counterfeit medicines do exist, they are not safe and together we can take action to avoid them.

PSM works with patient advocacy groups and consumer groups to raise awareness of counterfeit drugs within the United States and to teach patients and medical professionals how to buy medication safely and affordably without risking their lives by dealing with unlicensed, dangerous counterfeit medication sellers.

What We Publish

PSM's Legislative Agenda

SAFEMEDICINES Blog
Our entire news archive, with posts by our expert board members on current topics.

Articles In Other Publications
An broad bibliography of research articles on drug safety.

SAFEMEDICINES Press Releases And Op-eds
An archive of all of our press releases and opinion editorials.

SAFEMEDICINES Counterfeit Incident Encyclopedia
Our writeups of key counterfeit drug incidents around the world.

Social Media

Follow PSM on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube. Or, consult our bookmarked collection of counterfeit drug news stories on Pinboard.

Ready to find out more?

Drop us a line today for a free quote!

Members

View a list of members who are partnering to keep medicines safe.

Board and Staff

Our board and staff are dedicated to keeping medicine safe.

International Work

The Partnership for Safe Medicines has worked internationally at times with consumer advocates, industry leaders and government officials to identify and implement meaningful solutions that address the worldwide counterfeit drug crisis.

We are not currently able to develop any new international chapters.

Current international partners include:

Read PSM's International Principles of Drug Safety

Publications

cover of PDF flyer with the same content as this page

Patients face safety risks with counterfeit and compounded prescription weight-loss drugs

July 19, 2024
First page of a document about a pharmaceutical black market on Etsy

Threat Alert: Medicine designed to mimic regulated pharmaceuticals for sale online at Etsy.com

March 5, 2024

How low PBM reimbursements ultimately endanger US patients

February 28, 2024

PSM Advisory Board approves policy resolution on reimbursement practices and supply chain safety

February 16, 2024

Explainer: eBay and the Department of Justice settle over pill press sales

February 1, 2024

Are Canadian patients struggling with drug shortages already?

January 30, 2024
Map of Texas with prescription pill bottle to the left. The bottle a label with a maple leaf that's peeling away to reveal a skull and crossbones.

What medicines do U.S. states want to import from Canada’s drug supply?

January 30, 2024

Teach Your Community With These Conference Slides

September 13, 2023

Protect Your Patients and Your Practice

April 11, 2023

“Counterfeits by the numbers / 5 ways to save” bookmark

September 10, 2022

Since 2015, fentanyl has changed the drug landscape

January 26, 2022

Talking About Counterfeit Medicine

August 8, 2021
cover 2021 update on pill presses

Illegal Pill Presses Pose Serious, Nationwide Threat to American Patients and Communities

May 4, 2021

Are safety-tested imported drugs still cheaper? No. They are more expensive.

December 14, 2020

Deadly Counterfeit Pills Found in All 50 U.S. States; Deaths Now Reported in 42 of Them.

October 26, 2020

Criminal Internet Pharmacy Networks Are Capitalizing on COVID-19.

June 10, 2020
5 types of covidscams bookmar

Download our “5 Types of #covidscams” bookmark

May 19, 2020

How Many Tests Need to Be Performed to Know That a Batch of Pills is Safe?

April 14, 2020

Avoid COVID scams by buying medicine safely – Read our tips in English and en Español

April 7, 2020

HHS comments come in overwhelmingly against Canadian drug importation proposal

March 10, 2020

49 States Have Reported Deadly Counterfeit Pills Made with Fentanyl, January 2020

March 3, 2020
graph comparing the population of Canada to the US

Canadian Importation Does Not Work

February 21, 2020
front side of the bookmark

“5 Ways” consumer bookmark

February 19, 2020

Infographic: Counterfeiting By The Numbers

January 30, 2020
Infographic showing how medication is tested.

How do you test whether a medication is legitimate?

October 23, 2019

Myth: We are getting the same drugs Canadians take

September 30, 2019

Drug Importation By the Numbers

August 28, 2019

Do You Know What A Pill Press Is?

August 19, 2019

Illegal Pill Presses: An Overlooked Threat to American Patients (2019)

March 19, 2019

Black Market Cancer Drugs In the U.S. 2007–2018

August 8, 2018
Cover to F101 graphic

Fentanyl 101: What you need to know

August 8, 2018

Who Opposes Drug Importation? Every Head of the FDA and HHS Since 2000

July 2, 2018
front page of HIV resource

Black Market HIV Drugs in the U.S.

February 19, 2018

New Report Shows Widespread and Deadly Impact of Illegally-Imported Fentanyl (April 2018 Update)

September 27, 2017
Cover of a Report entitled Counterfeit Drugs in America: Crimes, Victims & Solutions. Fact Pack, Second Edition

Counterfeit Drugs in America 2017

February 16, 2017

Bipartisan Safety Issues: How Many Different Kinds of Black Market Medicines have been Sold in Your State?

January 24, 2017

Rogues Gallery Comics: An Illustrated Guide To Counterfeit Drug Crime

November 13, 2015

Safety Tips Campaign

November 10, 2015

PSM’s Safe Savings Resource

November 10, 2015

5 Kinds Of Poisons Found In Counterfeit Drugs

November 10, 2015

Save Money Safely from Online Pharmacies

November 10, 2015

Do YOU Know How to Decode a Fake Pharmacy Website?

February 16, 2015

Black Market Injectable Cosmetic Treatments, a Nationwide Problem

October 21, 2014

Patient Advocates Warn of Dangers of Black Market HIV Medicines

May 21, 2014

PSM Releases Report on Black Market IUDs at U.S. Clinics

January 21, 2014

PSM Releases Overview of Unapproved Cancer Medication Cases

December 10, 2013

Counterfeit Drug Incidents in G8 Countries

September 5, 2013

How Did That Canadian Pharmacy Medicine Get To Me?

March 7, 2013

Counterfeit vs. Substandard Drugs

November 10, 2012

A Risky Proposition: Opening the US to Foreign Medicines Will Put American Children at Heightened Risk

November 10, 2011