About PSM
Counterfeit Drug Incidents in G8 Countries
It is safe for Americans to order life-saving medicine from online pharmacies overseas? No. Like the U.S., other countries are plagued by illegal Internet pharmacies.
[...]PSM India Initiative Brings Together Government, Industry and Health Care Stakeholders to Help Stop the Spread of Spurious Medicines
PSM India Initiative Brings Together Government, Industry and Health Care Stakeholders to Help Stop the Spread ofSpurious Medicines Organisation Hosts Second National Training Workshop on “Secured Medicines & Robust Pharmacovigilance MUMBAI (26 August 2013) – The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) India Initiative, a public health organisation dedicated to protecting consumers from spurious and not-of-standard…
[...]INTERPOL-Led Sting Operation Shuts Down Over 9,600 Illegal Internet Pharmacies, Seizes $41 Million in Fake, Dangerous or Unapproved Drugs
PSM’s Member PSI Aids Investigators in Largest Global Operation of its Kind Washington, D.C. (June 27, 2013) – The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) applauds INTERPOL and the nearly 100 countries who took part in Operation Pangea VI, the largest global sting operation to date targeting the online sale of illegal prescription medicines. One of PSM’s…
[...]PSM Lauds House of Representatives for Approval of HR 1919
PSM applauds the members of the House of Representatives for passing HR 1919, “Safeguarding America’s Pharmaceuticals Act of 2013.”
Today, our system of prescription drug distribution heavily relies on trusting the entity you’re dealing with and their judgment. If a mistake is made, or anyone farther back in the supply chain makes a mistake in purchasing a substandard drug product, there is no ability for a good actor down the line to know this. Criminals have taken advantage of this fact, and such incidents are growing in number every year. Life-saving medications that treat osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease, and many other serious medical conditions have been faked just in the last few years, as the rules of the road have failed to keep up with the innovative nature of the criminals that prey on American patients.
PSM Supports HR 1919, ‘Safeguarding America’s Pharmaceuticals Act’
Dear Speaker Boehner and Chairman Upton:
On behalf of the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM), we write today in strong support of H.R.
1919, the “Safeguarding America’s Pharmaceuticals Act”.
PSM is a not for profit, consumer focused organization that seeks to
keep Americans safe from counterfeit drugs through patient and healthcare
provider education and awareness. In
the US we work with a coalition of over 70 healthcare professional and patient
groups to improve patients’ and their
healthcare providers’ knowledge about where they obtain their medication, how
they can save money safely, and how to safely identify licensed pharmaceutical
distributors.
PSM strongly supports the creation of a national uniform track and trace
or pedigree system that would allow all participants in the supply chain to
verify a product’s history of sale.
Chambliss W. G, Carroll W. A, Kennedy D, Shepherd M*, et al. Role of the Pharmacist in Preventing Distribution of Counterfeit Medications. In: J Am Pharm Assoc. 2012;52(2):195-199.
Abstract Objective: To provide an overview of the counterfeit medication problem and recommendations of a joint American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science and APhA Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management taskforce. Date sources: SciFinder and PubMed were searched from 1980 to March 2011 using the following keywords: counterfeit drug product, counterfeit…
[...]PSM Applauds INTERPOL, Industry Partnership to Combat Counterfeit Medicines
March
12, 2013 (Washington, D.C.) – The Partnership for Safe Medicines
(PSM), the leading advocacy organization dedicated to fighting the spread of
counterfeit drugs, applauds today’s
announcement of a bold new initiative between INTERPOL
and the pharmaceutical industry to combat the global health threat of
counterfeit and fake medicines.
This new initiative broadens the scope of the
successful Medical Product Counterfeiting and Pharmaceutical Crime Unit through
the creation of a Pharmaceutical Crime Program to assist and enhance worldwide
law enforcement efforts. Thomas Kubic, PSM Board Member and CEO of the
Pharmaceutical Security Institute, released the following statement hailing the
new agreement:
How Did That Canadian Pharmacy Medicine Get To Me?
How Did That Canadian Web Pharmacy Medicine Get to Me?
So called “Canadian” online pharmacies pretend to sell non-Canadians price-controlled medications for citizens. Evidence collected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration questions their claim.
[...]Partnership for Safe Medicines Announces Groundbreaking China Initiative
Launch of PSM China Reinforces Global
Fight Against Counterfeit Drugs
Beijing and Washington, D.C. (November
28, 2012) – The
Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM), the leading advocacy organization dedicated
to fighting the global threat posed by counterfeit drugs, today announced its
latest international collaboration with the launch of PSM China. Today’s launch
event in Beijing was attended by stakeholders from the government, advocacy community and industry, and underscores the important
role that public-private partnerships play in educating consumers and helping
to keep them safe from dangerous and deadly counterfeit medicines.
Counterfeit vs. Substandard Drugs
Both counterfeit drugs and substandard drugs can be harmful, but it is important to understand that they are different. When substandard medicines are found, authorities can work with the company to remove the substandard medicine and correct the problem. With counterfeit drugs, the company that manufactured them is unknown. Consumers have no assurance of what is actually in these products, no way to know how many there are, or where they are located.
[...]