News Coverage
The Partnership for Safe Medicines has been publishing information about the counterfeit drug problem around the world for more than a decade. With experts leading the organization and a committed and passionate set of writers and editors, our content is more in-depth than many other sources, which simply copy links to the news from other websites.
The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine has recently become aware that some consumers may mistake chloroquine phosphate used to treat disease in aquarium fish for FDA-approved drugs (used to treat malaria and certain other conditions in humans) that are being studied as a COVID-19 treatment for humans. Unfortunately, we have learned that one person in the United States has died after he and his wife reportedly took chloroquine used to treat their fish in an attempt to prevent COVID-19; his wife also became very ill. We are continuing to investigate this incident.
According to the LA City Attorney’s Office, they have taken action to remove Internet ads that made false claims about COVID-19 prevention and treatment. The Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission have already issued a warning that there are currently no vaccines or drugs approved to treat COVID-19.
For 78 days, the Department of Health and Human Services accepted public comment on the proposed rulemaking that would allow states to establish drug importation programs, individuals and organizations submitted 1,210 comments, and PSM read each of them. Here are what we feel are the most important takeaways…
“What we don’t need in this situation are companies preying on consumers by promoting products with fraudulent prevention and treatment claims. These warning letters are just the first step. We’re prepared to take enforcement actions against companies that continue to market this type of scam.”
Each year, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration pools the knowledge of law enforcement agencies around the country to produce its National Drug Threat Assessment. This year, fentanyl, counterfeit prescription pills, and the pill presses are all listed as things that will continue to endanger American lives…
Yesterday ended a 78-day comment period for the White House’s proposal to import medicine from Canada. In all, over 1,000 comments were filed. Overwhelmingly, these comments opposed the proposed rule or expressed skepticism that the rule could meet the two requirements listed in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003: be safe and save consumers money. In fact, when you read the comments, it is clear that this policy is overwhelming opposed by experts on the issues of economics and medicine safety.
According to a notice on the L.A. City Attorney’s website, the Dominguez family allegedly ran a counterfeit drug operation that sold approximately 13,848 counterfeit and misbranded pharmaceuticals, including counterfeit and misbranded versions of anti-seizure and blood pressure medications, injectable birth control and steroids, among others.
This editorial by Peter J. Pitts was published in The Times Weekly on March 3, 2020. Mr. Pitts is president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest and a former FDA associate commissioner. Keep Canadian drugs out of U.S. medicine cabinets The Trump administration recently proposed two rules that would allow states, pharmacies,…
WHOIS data is searchable registrar information available for all websites on the Internet. It has long been used to trace criminal websites that host counterfeit and illicit drug sales, human trafficking, child pornography, and illicit and copyrighted content, as well as the websites of spammers, denial-of-services and phishing attackers, and other fraudsters.
In this editorial in The Globe and Mail, Ujjal Dosanjh, formerly a federal minister of health and a premier of British Columbia, explains that drug manufacturers have no incentive to sell Canadian provinces more medicine to fill the needs of U.S. residents. Importation will lead to drug shortages in Canada and counterfeit drug trafficking to the U.S.
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. Company Announcement Date: February 24, 2020 FDA Publish Date: February 24, 2020 Product Type: Dietary Supplements…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just announced a successful joint operation with the Government of India targeting counterfeit prescription drugs, counterfeit over-the-counter medications, fake medical devices, and misbranded dietary supplements containing harmful ingredients.
Today The Partnership for Safe Medicines filed comments with Health and Human Services about the dangers posed by its draft regulations for state-based Canadian drug importation programs. PSM cited historic problems with and patient harm from Canadian vendors selling counterfeit medications to U.S. patients and medical practices; showed broad opposition to the plan by Canadian stakeholders; and provides alternatives that don’t impact patient safety.
According to a report from Europol’s Intellectual Property Crime Threat Assessment 2019, “Counterfeit pharmaceuticals pose a growing threat to the EU, affecting a large number of Member States. A wide and increasingly diverse range of medicines is targeted by counterfeiters.”
The Europol ICP Threat Assessment reports that there has been an increase in seizures of counterfeit drugs used in the treatment of serious illnesses, as well as a growing number of counterfeit drug incidents affecting the legal drug supply chain.
Planet Drugs Direct, an online pharmacy based in Winnipeg, Canada, has announced a data breach. Hackers broke into their servers, exposing customers’ names, medical details, and contact and banking information. Legitscript is unequivocal in calling Planet Drugs Direct a “Rogue Internet Pharmacy,” their worst rating for online pharmacies, accusing them of violating state and federal laws.
Our infographic, “Counterfeiting by the Numbers,” highlights facts from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s January 2020 report, Combating Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods, which documents the extraordinary scale of the global counterfeiting market and its effects across all economic sectors—including medicines.
The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) stands with our law enforcement partners in commending the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives for their swift passage of S.3201, which would extend the DEA’s temporary scheduling of fentanyl-related substances to be Schedule I controlled substances for an additional 15 months. Without this reauthorization, criminals could…
The Governor of New Jersey has just signed A-5037, a new law designed to increase penalties for counterfeit drug crimes committed in the state.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Stephan Caamano, who manufactured and sold at least 4.3 million counterfeit Xanax pills, will spend the next 13 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to his crimes…
This editorial by David C. Rosenbaum and Dara Jospé was published in the Financial Post on January 16, 2020. Rosenbaum is a partner of the law firm Fasken. Jospé is an associate for the same company.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner has blamed fentanyl poisoning for the death of a four-year-old girl in Glendale last September. The report cited fentanyl toxicity as the cause of the little girl’s death.
This editorial by Dr. Kristina M. L. Acri née Lybecker was published in IP Watchdog on January 2, 2020. Dr. Acri is an Associate Professor of Economics at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, and Chair of the Department of Economics and Business.
Dr. Thomas Whalen, a rheumatologist who practiced medicine in Havertown, Pennsylvania has pleaded guilty to charges he purchased non-FDA approved, temperature-sensitive biologic medication from Turkey and the United Kingdom to treat his rheumatology patients.
Authorities seized close to 40,000 fake Adderall pills from Rodriguez-Rabin’s apartment. There was also a “machine to make the pills” seized during the raid. Rodriguez-Rabin is a 51-year-old lecturer that worked in the University of Texas system.
Partnership for Safe Medicines Statement on Proposed Regulations to Import Prescription Medicines from Canada Washington, D.C. (December 18, 2019) – Shabbir Safdar, executive director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines, released the following statement in response to today’s announcement by the Trump Administration and the proposed regulations to allow importation of prescription medicines: “Citizens of…
Consumption of a product with undeclared tadalafil may pose a risk to consumers who take prescription medications containing nitrates (such as nitroglycerin). The combination of tadalafil and nitrates may lower blood pressure to dangerous levels which can be life threatening. Consumers with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease often take nitrates and may be the population most likely to be affected.
This editorial by Sally Pipes was published in The Sun Journal on December 16, 2019. Pipes is president, CEO and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy at the Pacific Research Institute.
An Idaho medical doctor has been sentenced to seven months in prison for using counterfeit chinese-made breast implants on unsuspecting patients.
PSM’s Executive Director Shabbir Safdar spoke with Dave Akerly on WILS in Lansing, Michigan about the importation proposal currently being debated in the Michigan House of Representatives. Safdar was enroute to the Michigan State House to participate in hearings on drug importation being held there. Here why our Executive Director has travelled to Michigan to testify at their drug importation hearing.
This editorial by Rosie Rivera was published in The Salt Lake Tribune on December 3, 2019. Rivera is the sheriff of Salt Lake County.
In their latest report on fake online pharmacies that ply their trade in the United States, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) found more than 1,500 new websites that it considers “Not Recommended,” and of these, 31% are offering illicit prescription drugs, such as codeine, fentanyl, oxycodone, Adderall, Valium, and Xanax. 99% of…
In spite of recent efforts by legislators in Florida, Maine, Colorado, and elsewhere, Canadian patient groups are vocally opposing pending legislation that proposes importing prescription medications from the Canadian drug supply. Paul Blanchard of the New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association told CBC News, “The country’s pharmacists association has been talking to the federal government … to make sure that the federal government and Canada is aware that the Americans are literally knocking on our door.”
The recent prosecution of Jorge Nogueira and Jessyka Molina for selling counterfeit Botox wholesale highlights one of Florida’s biggest counterfeit drug problems: fake beauty injections. This is the third action against fake beauty injections in Florida in the last year.
ASOP Global and LegitScript released a report analyzing the prevalence of illicit online sales of prescription drugs in China, a country where such sales are prohibited. Their analysis showed that about half of all Chinese online pharmaceuticals sellers are illicit, potentially exposing patients to counterfeit medicines, substandard medicines, financial fraud, and identity theft…
Blain Padgett earned a full athletic scholarship and a defensive end position with the Rice University Owls in 2015 through persistence, vision and sheer hard work, but his dream of playing college football was cut short on March 2, 2018, when he was found dead in his apartment. Investigation showed that Blain’s cause of death was fentanyl poisoning: the hydrocodone pill he’d taken from a friend for his shoulder pain turned out to be a counterfeit laced with carfentanil.
On September 30th, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a joint warning to four online networks that were operating a total of ten fake online pharmacy websites. While all four networks were offering misbranded/counterfeit opioid medications such as tramadol and Soma for sale, three of the online networks had marketplaces offering misbranded medications to treat a kaleidoscope of ailments, such as allergies, cancer, smoking, asthma, and infection.
In case you missed it, Bloomberg’s Ben Elgin has published an “in-depth” piece on the connection between PhRMA and the Partnership for Safe Medicines. However, this has been public and widely reported on for years. More concerningly, the story misses the broader point about the clear safety concerns of foreign drug importation. Over the past…
Eric Highsmith Griffin of Lexington, South Carolina died of fentanyl poisoning on May 10, 2016 after taking a Xanax for anxiety. He had no way of knowing that the medicine he had purchased from a friend of a friend was not just like the medicine he’d been prescribed. He would never have risked his life or caused suffering to his children and family if he had known that a non-opioid anti-anxiety medication could really be a counterfeit poison pill.
GL Holdings is voluntarily recalling six lots of Green Lumber 2-, 4-, and 10-capsule packages purchased on or before August 10, 2019 to the consumer level. FDA analysis has found one lot of Green Lumber distributed between June and August 2019 to be tainted with tadalafil.
On March 11, 2018, 20-year-old Jaydon Rogers died after he ingested a counterfeit oxycodone pill made with fentanyl. Recently, one of the men who helped put that pill into his hand received a sentence of 128 months in federal prison…
On September 30th, the Public Health Department of Santa Clara County, California updated a public health warning they had issued September 10th about deadly counterfeit 30mg oxycodone pills. The initial warning described “tablets visually appear to be the pharmaceutically manufactured version—they are circular in shape, light blue to light green in color, and have an ‘M’ inside a square stamped on one side and a ‘30’ stamped on the other side. Numerous fatal overdoses have been tied to these tablets, with a strong uptick in fatal overdoses in August 2019.”
This editorial by Ryan Costello was published in The Philadelphia Enquirer on October 9, 2019. Mr. Costello is a former U.S. Congressman (PA-06), and is now a public policy consultant.
This editorial by Dr. Kenneth E. Thorpe was published in Town Hall on October 8, 2019. Dr. Thorpe is a professor of health policy at Emory University and chairman of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease.
32-year-old Grand Junction resident Ashley Romero was the cherished eldest daughter of her close-knit Colorado family. With her warm heart and brilliant, 1,000 watt smile, she made friends everywhere she went. Ashley died on June 11, 2018, after taking half of an oxycodone pill. The pill was fake and actually made with fentanyl.
In a new series highlighting the good works done by our member organizations for their own causes, PSM spoke with Dr. Rich Sagall about NeedyMeds, the nonprofit he founded to Americans who are struggling to pay for their medications and other healthcare costs…
On September 24, 2019, the Partnership for Safe Medicines and 19 partner organizations held two congressional briefings about the real dangers counterfeit drugs pose to Americans, offering a clear picture of why importation cannot solve the problem of high drug prices in the U.S.:
Canada does not have enough prescription drugs to share with U.S.patients, and organized crime is poised to expand the counterfeit drug trade into the U.S. to bridge the gap without regard for the health and safety of U.S. residents. “The money to be made is far too great to worry about human life.”
A Coral Gables, Florida ophthalmologist at the Beautiful Vision Clinic is being investigated for importing counterfeit Botox from China to use on patients. On September 11, 2019, investigators raided the office of Dr. Francesann Ford and seized boxes of Botox that they allege are counterfeits imported from China.
Two new studies recently published in Canadian Health Policy each reached the same conclusion: legalizing drug importation in the U.S. would cause catastrophic damage to the Canadian drug supply…
This editorial by C. Michael White was published in The Conversation on September 27, 2019. White is a professor and head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice for the University of Connecticut.
On Tuesday, September 24, 2019, counterfeit medication victims and their families, American and Canadian patient groups, local and federal law enforcement, and other experts in the fight against counterfeit medicines gathered in Washington, D.C. to discuss how importation proposals threaten to trigger drug shortages in Canada while wreaking havoc on medication safety for U.S. patients.
Virtually every state in the Union has a serious problem with counterfeit pills made with fentanyl. During the month of September we have found reports of counterfeit pill deaths in Alaska, California, and Washington.
A medical doctor in Burley, Idaho has pleaded guilty to charges he used illegally imported breast implants from China on nine patients in his care. Dr. Temp Ray Patterson has admitted in court that he misled his patients by telling them the breast implants were FDA-approved; when he knew for a fact they were not.
Fitoterapia USA Inc., is voluntarily recalling 19,000 bottles of MACHO ARTIFICIAL PASSION FRUIT FLAVORED VITAMIN C LIQUID SUPPLEMENT, liquid dietary supplement to the consumer level. FDA analysis has found the product to be tainted with Tadalafil.
This editorial by Peter J. Pitts was published in The Washington Times on September 11, 2019. Mr. Pitts is president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest and a former FDA associate commissioner.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that Aaron Michael Shamo, 29 has been found guilty by a jury of organizing and directing a drug trafficking organization that ordered imported fentanyl and alprazolam online from China and used the drugs to press fake oxycodone pills made with fentanyl and counterfeit Xanax tablets.
On August 21, LA City Attorney Mike Feuer announced two separate cases had resulted in charges. In the first, criminal charges have been filed against eight people for allegedly importing more than 100,000 units of non-FDA approved pharmaceuticals, and selling them in the local area on the street in front of local businesses. In a second case, Feuer’s office seized a website offering illegal, misbranded, and counterfeit medications for sale online.
AmEx Pharmacy today announces a voluntary recall of all Lots of Bevacizumab 1.25mg/0.05mL 31G Injectable and all Lots of Bevacizumab 2.5mg/0.1ml Normject TB Injectable that are within expiry to the healthcare provider level. These lots are being recalled out of an abundance of caution following an FDA inspection.
This editorial by Liam Sigaud was published by Inside Sources on August 27, 2019. Mr. Sigaud is an economic policy researcher who writes for the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit educational and research organization.
Annapolis, Maryland resident Michele Marshall maintains she received counterfeit supplements from Amazon.com. Ms. Marshall purchased a probiotic supplement called Align from Amazon.com in April 2019. The actual seller was a third-party site offering the supplements for sale as a ‘Prime’ purchase, meaning the product is guaranteed to arrive in 2 days and is promoted among the first offering seen by Amazon customers when they conduct a product search.
When broken down to the nuts and bolts of implementation and operational execution, current drug importation plans fall apart. Drug Importation is neither a safe nor cost-effective solution. The numbers do not lie.
This editorial by Dana McDougall was published in The Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier on August 26, 2019. Mr. McDougall, Pharm.D., BCPS, is a pharmacist with the Covenant Cancer Treatment Center in Waterloo, Iowa.
WASHINGTON (August 26, 2019) – Shabbir Imber Safdar, Executive Director of The Partnership for Safe Medicines, released the following statement in response to Florida’s submission of a drug importation concept to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): “Florida’s Canadian Prescription Drug Importation Concept Paper [PDF] recently submitted to HHS demonstrates that Florida…
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is warning the public after the seizure of counterfeit pills designed to look like Adderall, a medication used to treat Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. The pills in question were tested and were found to be composed of illicit methamphetamine.
In a report published by the House of Commons, experts in the field of prescription medication described a dire situation for medicine safety in the United Kingdom (UK) if a “no-deal” departure from the European Union (EU) happens. The report noted, “Witnesses told us that, without provisions with the EU to continue to exchange data, the UK would be shut out of critical EU data exchanges on pharmacovigilance, falsified medicines and clinical trials.”
This editorial by Fergus Hodgson was published in the Epoch Times on August 14, 2019. Mr. Hodgson is an independent economic consultant, and Executive Editor of the Antigua Report.
The Arizona Republic has reported that Executive Director Shabbir Safdar, along with Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration special agent in charge Doug Coleman, and Phoenix-area pharmacist Randle House and met with U.S. Senator Martha McSally in Arizona on August 8th to seek her assistance and support for efforts to protect the U.S. prescription drug supply from counterfeit medication
John Adams of the Best Medicines Coalition, a Canadian group that represents 28 different patient organizations, has described the Trump administration’s plan to import medication from Canada as a “clear and present danger” to the Canadian prescription drug system, according to AP.
This editorial by Wayne Winegarden, Ph.D. appeared in Forbes on August 7, 2019. Dr. Winegarden is the Managing Editor for EconoSTATS and a senior Fellow in Business and Economics at the Pacific Research Institute.
U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer has issued a public safety warning concerning deadly counterfeit oxycodone pills in San Diego County. NBC San Diego reports, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office said border seizures, prosecutions and overdoses in San Diego County are on pace to reach all-time highs by the end of 2019. The Medical Examiner’s Office reports 50 confirmed fentanyl-related fatal overdoses so far this year, and says 28 more suspected cases are waiting to be confirmed.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was interviewed today in Iqaluit, and according to CBC Canada, he reassured Canadians that Health Canada is already safeguarding the Canadian prescription drug supply regardless of international pressure.
Partnership for Safe Medicines Statement on Reckless and Politically-Motivated Drug Importation Proposal Washington, D.C. (July 31, 2019) – Shabbir Safdar, executive director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines, released the following statement in response to today’s announcement by HHS Secretary Alex Azar and FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless: “Less than a year and a half ago,…
In March, the FDA issued two warning letters to websites selling misbranded prescription drugs. The first website, azmedicinalshop.com, quickly went offline, but the second, thedonrx.net, continued to operate for months before finally going dark…
The Canadian branch of the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP), along with fourteen other Canadian patient advocacy organizations have written a letter to Canadian Health Minister, the Honorable Ginette Petitpas Taylor imploring her to prevent the United States from wiping out the Canadian prescription medication supply with their misguided importation proposals.
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A Pensacola, Florida woman named Son Chu Gilliam has pleaded guilty to charges that she bought bulk counterfeit contact lenses from China and sold them through her tattoo parlor, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reports.
A Utah man has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the distribution of fentany pills. A complaint filed on July 3 alleges that he distributed more than 10,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills made with fentanyl over the course of 2016, and that a woman in Murray, Utah died of fentanyl poisoning after taking pills he sold her.
On July 3, 2019,CBS Sacramento ran a brief story about the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department’s unsettling discovery of counterfeit Oxycodone pills that were actually made with fentanyl.
New York-based Pharmalogical, Inc. (d/b/a Medical Device King and Taranis Medical Corp.) grossed $17 million by misleading U.S. medical practices into believing they were buying FDA-approved products rather than “unapproved products imported through a series of unidentified middlemen in Turkey and elsewhere.” President William Scully, was convicted of these activities in 2015, but the conviction was vacated in 2017. In 2018, he pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to 32 months in prison.
This editorial by Perry Thurston Jr. was published in Florida Politics on July 16, 2019. In it, State Senator Thurston explains that state-implemented drug importation will not bring any medication cost savings to Floridians.
A report just released the HDA Research Foundation demonstrates that federal importation proposals to allow drug importation are devoid of practical implementation guidance and funding, so will fail to guarantee federal safety and quality standards for prescription medication.
A pair of fake Adderall dealers who sold their counterfeits on the web has been arrested as a result of their Stamps.com account, Quartz reports. The duo allegedly sold almost $9 million worth of counterfeit Adderall by the time Tzu Yang “Issac” Lin and Meng Ting “Leo” Hu were arrested.
The U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is reporting that Sabas Rodriguez-Cisneros has been convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and other charges in a drug conspiracy that started in October 2016. According to the DOJ, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol intercepted a package for Rodriguez-Cisneros that was being shipped to his girlfriend contained 400…
Recent news out of Texas gave updates on the cases against three men who were part of a major counterfeit pill ring busted in San Antonio in 2017. The ringleader entered a guilty plea and faces up to 30 years in prison, a supplier received a 21-year sentence, and a distributor waits to see what his future holds…
In June, the New Jersey Assembly passed A-5037, a bill that increases penalties for those who create, distribute or administer counterfeit, adulterated or misbranded medical drugs and devices. The legislation, which has been sent to the New Jersey Senate’s Budget and Appropriations Committee, would make the sale of more than 100 units of fake medicine punishable by a sentence of five to ten years, a fine of up to $150,000, or both.
This editorial by Adam Fein and Dirk Rodgers was published in Stat News on July 11, 2019. In it, Fein and Rodgers warn that plans by states to create drug importation programs will open new pathways for counterfeit drugs to enter the U.S. drug supply chain…
A series of eight different busts in Arizona this month has yielded approximately 132,000 counterfeit pills made with fentanyl, with seizures happening all across the Grand Canyon state.
This editorial by retired DEA agent Douglas Hebert was published in The Arizona Capital Times ,on June 27, 2019. In it, Hebert explains how drug importation programs will help organized crime expand their $200 billion-a-year counterfeit pharmaceutical industry into the U.S., at the expense of Americans.
On June 24, 2019, the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA), along with the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) wrote a joint letter to U.S. Health and Human Services (HSS) Secretary Alex Azar questioning the wisdom of poorly thought-out importation proposals.
In this editorial, which was published by the Fraser Institute on June 13, 2019, economist Dr. Kristina Acri argues against importation, concluding: “Diverting drugs meant for Canadian patients to the U.S. through state importation schemes will create shortages for Canadian patients and increase pressure on potentially unscrupulous suppliers to source drugs from wherever they can, opening the door to counterfeiters.”
On June 4, 2019, Laval police conducted a series of raids to bring down the ring that was making the counterfeit pills. 235 police officers searched 13 locations in Laval, Montreal and the communities that ring the north shore of Laval and Montreal islands. The raids have resulted in the arrest of eleven people.
On June 7, 2019, a federal jury found Dion Gregory Fisher, 33, of Seminole, FL, guilty of conspiring to manufacture and distribute fentanyl and fentanyl analogue, guilty of five counts of fentanyl distribution and manufacturing and eight counts of committing money laundering transactions involving more than $10,000 of narcotics proceeds.
The Partnership for Safe Medicines and the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP Global), two public health advocacy groups focused on patient safety and the secure pharmaceutical supply chain, released an infographic today to call attention to the human toll that counterfeit medicines take on children in low and middle income countries.
Eight people in Stockton have been indicted after an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) of over 50 overdoses in the Sacramento area in 2016 that included 12 deaths. The Sacramento Bee reports that the large-scale counterfeit pill making operation in Stockton was turning out thousands of counterfeit prescription pills made with fentanyl, methamphetamine,…
Thirty-one light blue pills seized in a drug investigation were identified by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation as counterfeits made with fentanyl in the first week of June, 2019. The pills were marked with the markings of legitimate oxycodone. The Parson Sun reports that the pills were discovered in a Parsons, KS, motel room on…
On March 21, 2019, 22-year-old Jacob Reis of Cary, Illinois pleaded guilty to charges he gave his 19-year-old girlfriend, Rachel Ramirez, a deadly fentanyl-laced counterfeit pill that killed her, the Northwest Herald reports. According to a 2018 article in the Northwest Herald, Reis and another young woman, Reanna Salas, were originally charged with providing the…
This editorial by Guy Anthony was published in the Orlando Sentinel on June 12, 2019. Anthony, President and CEO of Black, Gifted & Whole, a nonprofit focused on issues surrounding black, queer men, warns that drug importation will open up “a market for dangerous, counterfeit drugs” that will make it harder for people to live with HIV and other complex illnesses.
We’ve all heard politicians promise cheaper drugs imported from other countries, but are they just saying that because we want to hear it? Do they have any expertise that suggests they know how to make such a system safe?
This editorial by Nigel Rawson was published in The Hills Times on June 9, 2019. Dr. Rawson, president of Eastlake Research Group, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute, and an affiliated scholar with the Canadian Health Policy Institute, warns that Canada would run out of necessary medicine if U.S. states begin drug importation programs…
Washington, D.C. (June 11, 2019) – Shabbir Imber Safdar, executive director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines, released the following statement today in response to the signing of Florida’s drug importation bill: “Today, Florida’s governor put politics over the safety of residents across the state. Although this was widely expected, we remain committed to protecting…
Three Los Angeles-based companies, and five individual defendants have proffered guilty pleas on charges that they were making and distributing herbal supplements containing dangerous levels of prescription pharmaceuticals.
“I’m pleased to re-join the Partnership for Safe Medicines’ Board of Directors at a time when factual information concerning the risks posed by medicines reaching unsuspecting Americans is critically needed” said Tom.