Policy/Enforcement News
PSM Attends Panel on Intellectual Property Rights and Counterfeit Drugs
On May 27, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) held an event to address intellectual property (IP) rights, a discussion that extended to issues of counterfeit and substandard medicines in developing parts of the world. PSM Executive Director Scott LaGanga moderated a panel discussion with Sproxil’s Ashifi Gogo, Dr. Vishal Patel…
[...]U.S. Agents Search Mail for Counterfeit Drugs
On May 13, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) led a foreign mail inspection in West Miami-Dade, Fla., designed to weed out thousands of counterfeit and unapproved medicines and stop them from entering the country. The three-day search had agents poring over packages of illegal pharmaceutical drugs, dietary supplements and home remedies mailed from…
[...]Arrests Made in Counterfeit Alli Case
Back in January, we told you about an FDA alert regarding counterfeit Alli—an FDA-approved, over-the-counter weight loss drug—which was being sold over the Internet. The FDA found that the counterfeit pills were made with varying amounts of the stimulant sibutramine, which can be particularly harmful to those with a history of cardiovascular disease and can…
[...]Europe Announces Treaty to Combat Counterfeit Drugs
Moving in line with the globally recognized need for strong protections against counterfeit drugs, the Council of Europe recently announced a treaty that intends to halt the trade of fake medications. At its Medicrime Convention, the Council of Europe created a binding international instrument to combat the sale of counterfeit drugs and other impediments to…
[...]PSM Delivers Recommendations to IPEC Regarding the Joint Strategic Plan
Given the growing threat of counterfeit drugs around the world, the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) goes to great lengths to inform and educate consumers, health care professionals and policymakers about this multifaceted issue. Most recently, we submitted recommendations to the office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) following its request for comments regarding…
[...]Yahoo Fails to Address Counterfeit Drugs in Remarks to FDA
At the end of February, the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) answered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) call for comments on their docket concerning the Promotion of FDA-Regulated Medical Products Using the Internet and Social Media Tools. We submitted our recommendations on the tail of Google’s change to its online advertising policies, requiring…
[...]European Coding System Looks to Combat Counterfeits: Part One
In October 2009, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) announced its pilot project—a coding system aimed at reducing the risk of counterfeit drugs dispensed to patients. The project entails the use of a small barcode to verify individual packs of medicine, aiming for an end-to-end tracking, which allows the pack to be…
[...]Who is PharmacyChecker? Checking the Facts on PharmacyChecker.com
Who is PharmacyChecker.com? PharmacyChecker is a company that provided online pharmacy certification services for the major search engines until 2010. Why did the search engines stop using PharmacyChecker’s services? None of the search engines gave a public reason for ending their relationship with PharmacyChecker. Several experts in the field, including our own Bryan Liang, criticized…
[...]Consumer Protection Group Applauds International Efforts to Combat Illegal Online Pharmacies
The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) issued the following statement regarding the International Internet Week of Action, code named Operation Pangea II, intended to curb illegal actions involving medical products. PSM is a group of organizations and individuals dedicated to protecting consumers from counterfeit medicines.
[...]USC Spotlight on Counterfeit Drugs and Devices
On November 18, 2009, the University of Southern California (USC) will offer a one-day course called “Building Pharmaceutical Anti-Counterfeiting Programs.” The course will be taught by experts from the field and will examine the nature of the criminal challenge, government and industry roles and responsibilities and technologies that can be used to disrupt the production…
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