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.
A pair of men from Ukraine admitted in federal court that they conspired to smuggle and distribute counterfeit cancer and hepatitis C drugs into the United States. Maksym Nienadov, the owner of the Ukrainian-based company Healthy Nation, and his co-conspirator and employee – Volodymyr Nikolaienko – pleaded guilty in federal court in Houston, Texas to conspiracy, trafficking in counterfeit drugs and smuggling goods into the country.
The FDA has issued 70 recalls/warnings at last count for hand sanitizers made with deadly wood alcohol (methanol). Substantial methanol exposure can result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death.
PSM’s round-up this week includes fake PPE and COVID-19 treatments, deaths and hospitalizations related to hand sanitizer made of methanol, fentanyl pill seizures, and guilty pleas from two Ukrainian men who sold counterfeit cancer and hepatitis treatments to U.S. agents.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up and passed H.R. 5663, the Safeguarding Therapeutics Act, today.
Importing medicine from Canada is more dangerous than it looks because it is so difficult to prosecute fake or substandard drug sellers. Legislators and their consultants make it sound as if holding a foreign vendor accountable will be easy, but history has shown that the U.S. federal government, with all of its agreements, power, and resources, still struggles to bring criminals to justice.
AAA is recalling all lots of their hand sanitizer due to the presence of undeclared methanol (wood alcohol) in their hand sanitizer products.
PSM continues to monitor public reports of dangerous counterfeit medical supplies and treatments. This week’s round-up includes news of COVID-19 scammers in the U.S. and overseas, fake pill traffickers in Arizona, South Carolina and Connecticut, and more.
4e Brands of San Antonio, Texas is recalling all lots of their hand sanitizer due to the presence of undeclared methanol (wood alcohol) in their hand sanitizer products.
In 2007, McLeod Cancer and Blood Center in Johnson City, Tennessee began buying medicine from Quality Specialty Products, a company that sold medicine from foreign sources that had not been inspected or approved by the FDA.
McLeod was just one of more than 900 U.S. medical practices caught buying non-FDA approved cancer drugs. Learn more about this ugly episode in black market medicines in this week’s video.
PSM continues to monitor public reports of dangerous counterfeit medical supplies and treatments. This week’s round-up includes news of COVID-19 scammers in the U.S. and overseas, as well as fake pill traffickers, and a startling counterfeit pill seizure in Italy.
PSM continues to monitor public reports of dangerous counterfeit medical supplies and treatments. This week’s round-up includes prosecutions of COVID-19 scammers and fake pill traffickers, massive seizures in across the U.S., and two tragic deaths.
The Department of Homeland Security blew past a grim milestone this month: 1 million fake COVID-19 products seized: fake and substandard personal protective equipment like masks, counterfeit test kits, black market medicine, unapproved thermometers, and fake treatments like colloidal silver or bleach.
PSM continues to monitor public reports of dangerous counterfeit medical supplies and treatments. Last week’s news includes prosecutions of COVID-19 scammers and counterfeit pill traffickers, and a massive fentanyl pill seizure in Canada.
It’s been happening since at least 2015, but many people are still not aware that counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl and fentanyl analogs are circulating in nearly all the United States and killing many, many people.
PSM is still monitoring public reports of dangerous counterfeit medical supplies and treatments. Here’s a quick round-up of counterfeit news published the week of June 8, 2020.
The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) applauds the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) pilot program established this week to curb unapproved opioids illegally available online by potentially suspending or blocking offending domain names.
This week on #covidscams, PSM reviews the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy’s new report, Rogue Online Pharmacies in the Time of Pandemic: Capitalizing on Misinformation and Fear.
PSM is still monitoring public reports of dangerous counterfeit medical supplies and treatments. Here’s a quick round-up of counterfeit news published the week of June 1, 2020.
PSM is still monitoring public reports of dangerous counterfeit medical supplies and treatments. Here’s a quick round-up of counterfeit news published the week May 25, 2020.
The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office filed a lawsuit against Wellness Matrix Group to stop the California-based business from preying upon the public by selling fraudulent COVID-19 products…
The era of COVID-19 has been marked by shortages of medical equipment–hand sanitizer, test kits, gloves and, most of all, protective masks for healthcare workers and first responders. On May 13th, the Associated Press (AP) published a disheartening investigative piece–one in a series about the challenges of a worldwide medical supply chain–that shows just how difficult it is to establish that important medical supplies are safe and effective over the whole course of the purchasing process.
PSM is still monitoring public reports of dangerous counterfeit medical supplies and treatments. Here’s a quick round-up of counterfeit news published the week May 18, 2020.
Maine submitted a state importation plan to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently to meet its own May 1, 2020 deadline. Given the deep structural flaws in both the idea of importing medicine from Canada and in Maine’s application to do so, PSM wonders if there is a better use of Maine taxpayer dollars than to continue to pursue this idea.
PSM is still monitoring public reports of dangerous counterfeit medical supplies and treatments. Here’s a quick round-up of counterfeit news published the week May 11, 2020.
Last week PSM asked Congress to help protect the public from online COVID-19 scams by requiring domain name sellers to suspend and lock websites that facilitate health fraud and re-opening registration information so that law enforcement can pursue criminals using websites to take advantage of the public.
PSM is still monitoring public reports of dangerous counterfeit medical supplies and treatments. Here’s a quick round-up of counterfeit news published the week May 4, 2020.
Law enforcement is encountering problems kicking COVID-19 scammers offline. Learn how, and how we can fix it.
Research Study Confirms That Cheap And Safe Drug Importation Is Not Feasible Read the abstract for Dr. Acri’s article. In March 2020, the Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, an official journal of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, published a study by Dr. Kristina M.L. Acri née Lybecker titled “State Pharmaceutical Importation Programmes: An Analysis of…
Even as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, PSM is keeping a steady eye on public reports of dangerous counterfeit drugs. Here’s a quick round-up of counterfeit news published the week of April 27th, 2020.
The FDA was established to protect Americans from adulterated food and medicines and from criminals selling ineffective, outrageous, and sometimes harmful treatments. Unfortunately, fake cures are fertile ground for profiteers, and no matter how many products the FDA seizes, more crop up. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic the FDA has been working overtime to stop the sale of harmful and ineffective COVID “treatments.” This week PSM did some research in the FDA’s warning letter archives to survey fake COVID-19 cures.
In this edition: Senators take up ASOP’s Call To Arms on domain name scams, more fake test kits, and the nearly infinite pool of #covidscam domain names.
In this edition: ASOP letter to the White House, more fake test kits and treatments and HR 5663, the Safeguarding Therapeutics Act
In a letter dated April 9th, the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP) has requested that the Vice President prioritize evidence-based messaging and focus energies on provable therapies for treating COVID-19. The letter also asks the Vice President to address the “systemic, structural Internet policy problems that enable COVID-19 scams online.”
The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office is being kept very busy trying to shut down LA area COVID-19 testing schemes that being offered without FDA or local health department approval.
In this edition: LegitScript’s comprehensive report on COVID-19 cyberscams, U.K. man accused of selling fake COVID-19 cures, unauthorized COVID-19 testing sites in Kentucky,
Download our guide, AVOID SCAMS & COUNTERFEITS: Quick Tips to Safely Purchase Medicines Online (in English | en Español) to learn more about how to protect yourself and your loved ones from fake COVID-19 treatments.
In this edition: Rise of Fake ‘Corona Cures’ Revealed in Global Counterfeit Medicine Operation, Fake ‘COVID-19 Testing Kits’ Across North America, FDA Letter: Do Not Use Chloroquine Phosphate Intended for Fish as Treatment for COVID-19, and L.A. Warns of Coronavirus Consumer Issues.
Operation Pangea found more than 34,000 bogus surgical masks among the 4.4 million illicit pharmaceuticals and 37,000 counterfeit medical devices seized during their seven-day global effort to target counterfeit drug crime. In Los Angeles, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized counterfeit coronavirus test kits. #covidscams are on the rise.
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…