FDA / Sirius Alert: Nearly 12,000 Kits of ClindaReach® Pledgets Stolen from Truck

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received warning of nearly 12,000 kits of ClindaReach® Pledgets, (Clindamycin Phosphate Topical Solution UPS, 1%), a topical acne treatment, which were stolen from a tractor-trailer on or around February 7, 2010 while in transit. The theft occurred in Monroe, Ohio. According to the manufacturer, Sirius—a wholly owned subsidiary…

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PSM Delivers Social Media Recommendations to the FDA

If you’re familiar with the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM), you’re familiar with our goal: to mitigate the threat of counterfeit and unsafe medicines to patients. The internet and social media have been both a hindrance to our efforts—giving legs to unlicensed online pharmacies, search engine advertising and spam—and a help—providing a tool for outreach…

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Tomić S, Milcić N, Sokolić M, Martinac AI. Identification of counterfeit medicines for erectile dysfunction from an illegal supply chain. Arh Hig Rada Toksikol. 2010;61(1):69-75.

The appearance of counterfeit medicines in supply chains is a global public health problem that may seriously affect patients. Counterfeit drugs do not meet quality standards and do not declare their real composition and/or source for the purposes of fraud. They may be generic or innovative, they may contain genuine constituents in a fake packaging,…

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Online Pharmacies, Free Trade Zones and Counterfeit Drugs

Nearly four years ago, Americans were warned against buying prescription drugs from Web sites linked to Canada’s biggest mail-order pharmacies, Mediplan Prescription Plus Pharmacy—also known as RxNorth—after laboratory tests of intercepted shipments detected counterfeits. Among the counterfeits were widely prescribed medications for heart disease and cholesterol. At the time, Mediplan’s Founder and President Andrew Strempler…

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Dai XM, An N Wu JM, Li HY, Zhang QM. Development and Validation of HPLC-UV-MS method for the control of four anti-diabetic drugs in suspected counterfeit products. Yao Xue Xue Bao. 2010 Mar; 45(3):347-52.

An HPLC-UV method has been developed for the determination of valibose, miglitol, voglibose and acarbose, the four anti-diabetic drugs. The separation was accomplished successfully by using reversed phase chromatography (Prevail carbohydrate column, 250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 microm) with a gradient acetonitrile-phosphate buffer solution (pH 8.0) at a wavelength of 210 nm. Furthermore, the…

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European Counterfeit Drug Market Worth more than $14 Billion

At the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM), we've long cautioned consumers about the dangers of counterfeit drugs—a growing issue affecting all corners of the globe. Now, the Pfizer-commissioned study, "Cracking Counterfeit Europe," has estimated that the counterfeit medicines market in Europe is worth more than $14 billion. The investigation, which covered 14 European countries, comes…

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$12M in Counterfeit Drugs Seized in Southeast Asia

View larger map An international police operation led to the seizure of $20M in counterfeit and illegal medicines, including antibiotics, anitimalarials, contraceptives, anti-tetanus vaccines, aspirin and drugs to treat erectile dysfunction. An estimated $12M were counterfeits with the remaining $8M found to be drugs that were “expired, diverted or unregistered.” Who: Medical Products Counterfeiting and…

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Twohig M, Skilton SJ, Fujimoto G, Ellor N, Plumb RS. Rapid detection and identification of counterfeit of adulterated products of synthetic phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors with an atmospheric solids analysis probe. Drug Test Anal. 2010;2(2):45-50.

The market success of the three approved synthetic phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors for the treatment of erectile dysfunction has led to an explosion in counterfeit versions of these drugs. In parallel a large market has developed for herbal products claimed to be natural alternatives to these synthetic drugs. The herbal products are heavily advertised on…

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FDA Alert Regarding Counterfeit Alli

The U.S. FDA released an updated public health alert regarding counterfeit Alli being sold over the internet. According to the FDA, here’s what you need to know: Alli is an FDA-approved, over-the-counter weight loss drug. FDA lab tests have confirmed that counterfeit versions of the drug do not contain the FDA-approved active ingredient; rather, they…

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