Posts by PSM Author
Op-Ed: Why Drug Importation Is Flawed Policy
Mike Leavitt | March 20, 2017 With the issue of prescription drug importation being debated on Capitol Hill again, mark me in the skeptical camp. As a matter of safety and practical policymaking, drug importation simply doesn’t work. It is not by happenstance that our country has the world’s safest drug supply. Counterfeit medicines are proliferating…
[...]Death of Ottawa Teens Blamed on Counterfeit Percocet Made with Fentanyl
Investigators confirm that pills found near Chloe Kotval’s body were fake Percocet containing a lethal dose of fentanyl. She is the youngest Canadian to be killed by fentanyl-laced fake medication, but hardly the first. Chloe Kotval, a 14 year old Ottawa high school student died on February 14, 2017 after taking a counterfeit pill laced…
[...]A&H Focal Inc. Issues Nationwide Recall of 21 Products Marketed as Dietary Supplements & One Cosmetic Product Due to Undeclared Drug Ingredients
This is a reprint of an FDA Alert. March 7, 2017 Contact Consumers Henry Choo: (646)327-8522 A&H Focal Inc. is voluntarily recalling all lots of the following products because many of these products have been historically tested by the FDA and found to contain PDE-5 Inhibitors (i.e. sildenafil, tadalafil, vardenafil, etc.) which is the active…
[...]California Drug Counterfeiter Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail
David Beckford was one of 5 California residents charged in a scheme to produce and sell fake Xanax from bulk medication imported from China. A Northern California Federal Court has sentenced Oakland resident David Beckford to ten years in prison after his guilty plea on counterfeit drug, money laundering, and weapons charges, The Department of…
[...]NABP Warns Congress About Canadian Online Pharmacies, February 10, 2017
A clandestine fake drug factory in Colombia washes empty medication bottles before filling them with counterfeit Tazocin, a prescription antibiotic. Photo courtesy of Pfizer. On February 10th, 2017, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacies wrote a letter to the U.S. Congress about the risks associated with Canadian online pharmacies. The letter, below in text…
[...]Fake Online Pharmacy Owner Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison
Juan Gallinal, a former Virginia police officer, acted as the head of a Florida conspiracy that used a valid brick-and-mortar pharmacy as a cover for series of fake pharmacy websites that sold misbranded and addictive drugs. The owner of a fake online pharmacy business in Florida has been sentenced to eight years in prison, the…
[...]Fake Xanax Manufacturer Sentenced to Prison in California Case
28 year old Oakland resident David Beckford has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in producing and selling counterfeit Xanax pills. Beckford and his co-conspirators imported bulk medication and pill presses from China and other countries that they then turned into real-looking Xanax pills. Authorities found that he intended to put…
[...]FDA Alert: Kingsway Trading Inc. Recalls “Xanthium & Siler Combo (Bi Yan Pian) Dietary Supplement” because it Contains Banned Ephedra Alkaloids
This is a reprint of an FDA Alert. When a company announces a recall, market withdrawal, or safety alert, the FDA posts the company’s announcement as a public service. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company. For Immediate Release February 7, 2017 Contact Consumers (718)366-2300 Kingsway Trading Inc. of Brooklyn, NY is…
[...]Betty Hunter’s Death Illustrates Danger of Fake Drugs
Arizona resident Betty Hunter died of lung cancer, but how much longer would she have lived if her oncologist had not treated her with counterfeit Avastin? A recent Danish documentary tells the tragic story of Arizona grandmother Betty Hunter, who in 2011 sought treatment for her lung cancer at an oncology clinic in Chandler Arizona.…
[...]Mexican Hospitals Treated Children With Counterfeit Chemotherapy Drugs
An investigation into the corruption of former Governor Javier Duarte has uncovered allegations that children with cancer were treated in state-run hospitals in Veracruz with counterfeit chemotherapy medicines due to budget shortfalls and lack of resources caused by his administration. The BBC reports, that when tested, the counterfeit chemotherapy drugs came back as an inert…
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