UK Study Finds Fake Online Pharmacies May Feed Antibiotic Resistance

A small-scale study in the United Kingdom has found that 75% of the assessed online pharmacies that offer drugs for sale in the UK are unregistered as legitimate pharmacies, and most offer antibiotics without a prescription. This finding could be a serious driver of microbial resistance. Obtaining Antibiotics Online from within the UK: a Cross-Sectional…

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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…

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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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It’s Not Just the United States: Fake Diet Pills Are a Real Problem in the U.K.

The United Kingdom’s Medicines & Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has launched an information and safety campaign concerning dangerous fake diet pills. The MHRA is asking U.K. residents to not take chances with lose-weight-fast promises with their “Dodgy Diet Pills” campaign, warning consumers that “fake or unlicensed medical products sold as slimming pills are untested,” and…

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Operation Pangea IX Shuts Down over 4,000 Fake Online Pharmacies

In its 9th year, the International Week of Action brought together enforcement organizations from 115 countries throughout the globe in an effort of eliminate the sales of counterfeit medication online. The 9th Interpol-led effort Operation Pangea just completed its efforts, according to a June 9th press release from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). George…

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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…

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China Cracks Down on Counterfeit Drugs With the Help of the FDA

The internet is a wild west of unregulated pharmaceutical websites, but Chinese and US cooperation are working together to make the Internet safer for consumers. 

China Daily reports that US Food and Drug Administration agents working in China collaborated with the China Food and Drug Administration to shutter 18 Chinese-language websites illegally offering counterfeit drugs and health food for sale in the United States.

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Vietnamese Sentenced for Fake Medicine Sales

Two Vietnamese were sentenced to terms of up to three years imprisonment in Hanoi for distributing counterfeit medication. Nguyen Ba Hai and Hoang Thi Hong, 27 and 38, were sentenced by the Hanoi People’s Court on July 22, 2011 for selling fake ED medication, reports the Thanh Nien News. Hai confessed to buying fake medicine…

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