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Fake Malaria drugs a growing problem - Monday, December 05, 2011

Fake or poor quality malaria drugs are boosting resistance in parts of southeast Asia, a problem that is likely to worsen unless tighter regulations are adopted, US experts said Monday.

How to know if your prescription drugs are counterfeit - Friday, October 28, 2011

According to the Federal Drug Administration, drugs sold on bogus websites may contain the wrong ingredients, incorrect quantities of ingredients, or may be composed of materials like drywall and eggshells.

Fake drugs nightmare - Saturday, October 08, 2011

Authorities have voiced their concern over the entry into the pharmaceutical industry of unscrupulous individuals who are flooding the local market with fake drugs worth billions of shillings.

U.S.: The dangerous world of counterfeit prescription drugs - Friday, October 07, 2011

Counterfeit prescription pharmaceuticals are a growing trend, widely recognized as a public health risk and a serious concern to public health officials, private companies, and consumers.

UK: Fake medicine trade - UK crackdown on drug importers - Thursday, September 29, 2011

Investigators are cracking down on the multi-million pound trade in fake and unlicensed medicines, as concerns grow over potential health risks. BBC News joined investigators on one of their raids.

Counterfeit pharmaceuticals a problem in Kurdistan - Saturday, July 30, 2011

For patients, it is difficult to tell the difference between fake medicines and genuine, high-quality ones, because the packaging and the medicines are identical. Even pharmacists have trouble telling the difference.

Counterfeit drugs: the science of telling the real from the fake - Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Workers at Pfizer's forensic lab analyze bogus medicine.

Texas calls for stores to pull fake antibiotics from shelves - Friday, April 29, 2011

They look like prescription antibiotics, but they're really over-the-counter dietary supplements -- and state health officials are urging consumers to get rid of them right away.

Man jailed for £4.7m counterfeit medicine fraud - Friday, April 08, 2011

A man has been jailed for eight years for his part in what has been described as the most serious fake medicine fraud in the European Union. Peter Gillespie, 64, from Hertfordshire, was part of a £4.7m plot to bring two million doses of counterfeit drugs from China to the UK.

FDA steps up counterfeit drugs investigations - Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The FDA Office of Criminal Investigations opened 72 cases concerning counterfeit drugs in 2010, a rise of more than 10 percent over the previous year.

Radiation fears spark fake potassium iodide pills, says FDA - Friday, March 18, 2011

As the Japanese government scrambles to provide potassium iodide pills to its population, the American government is warning about impostor pills here.

The difficult fight against counterfeit drugs - Thursday, March 10, 2011

There is a new front in the war on drugs, and it's not the kind of drugs you might think. We're not talking about cocaine, heroin or methamphetamines. This is about drugs that could wind up in your medicine cabinet: counterfeit prescription drugs...

Pharmaceutical industry battling counterfeit drugs - Friday, March 04, 2011

Counterfeit drugs have become a significant concern for the pharmaceutical industry. Originally, the issue was confined to Africa and Asia. However, the reported problems of parallel trading and Internet pharmacies have recently spread to the United States and Europe.

Euro MPs tackle counterfeit drugs - UK has 24 months to make legislative changes - Tuesday, February 22, 2011

A new law to prevent fake medicines from entering the legal supply chain was approved by the European Parliament in Strasbourg on February 16. This strengthens European legislation covering internet sales of medicines, and introduces new safety and traceability measures, as well as sanctions against counterfeiters.

European Parliament approves medicine directive - Thursday, February 17, 2011

A new directive to protect patients from fake medicines has been approved by the European Parliament.

CBP and FDA work together to seize counterfeit and tainted products - Friday, February 11, 2011

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) work closely to prevent the importation of harmful counterfeit prescription drugs and tainted products marketed as dietary supplements.

US-NZ fake drug sting - Chinese man in court over counterfeit drugs - Wednesday, January 26, 2011

A Chinese man has appeared in Wellington District Court in relation to his involvement in an international fake pharmaceuticals ring.

WHO members show dismay at delay on counterfeit medicines group - Tuesday, January 25, 2011

World Health Organization members today raised strong concerns that a working group they mandated last May to address problems with WHO policy on counterfeit and substandard medicines has yet to be formed – with four months remaining before it must report back to members.

Practical steps to prevent counterfeiting - Friday, January 14, 2011

With counterfeit medicines increasingly appearing in legitimate supply chains and even in the clinical stages of product development, a recent white paper has outlined practical steps that may help companies address the issue of counterfeits and diverted products.

More fake bath salts removed - Saturday, January 08, 2011

The fake bath salts have been named as possible causes of three deaths in Louisiana and have prompted more than 160 calls to Poison Control since September, state Department of Heath and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein said Thursday.

Deputies crack down on newly illegal fake bath salts - Thursday, January 06, 2011

Synthetic drugs masqueraded as bath salts have hospitalized hundreds in Louisiana and even caused several deaths and suicides.

Generic substitution raises counterfeit medicine fears, says survey - Monday, January 03, 2011

A study looking at generic substitution of medicines has found an alarming level of confusion between generic and counterfeit drugs, and raises fears that this may affect adherence to therapy.

China jails eight for selling fake rabies vaccine - Monday, December 20, 2010

BEIJING -- China's state news agency says eight people have been sentenced to prison terms of up to two-and-a-half years for selling fake rabies vaccines that contributed to the death of one boy.

Wilson man indicted on federal charges for selling fake Viagra, Cialis - Friday, December 17, 2010

A 54-year-old Wilson resident was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday for selling counterfeit Viagra and Cialis, the two most common erectile dysfunction drugs.

Illinois man charged in counterfeit drug bust - Thursday, December 16, 2010

Thousands of fake valium found in an Illinois business after FDA and CBP intercept a United States Postal Service package.

Naperville man charged in fake Valium, Xanax bust - Monday, December 13, 2010

Forensic tests of the seized pills show they contain the active ingredient in Valium, but they were manufactured by a criminal enterprise in China.

Canadian pharmacy alerts Americans to counterfeit drugs online - Tuesday, November 23, 2010

One of the largest online pharmacies in Canada, NorthWestPharmacy.com has issued a warning to consumers about buying from various unaccredited “Canadian pharmacies” due to the high risk of receiving counterfeit drugs online.

Channel 2 investigates counterfeit drugs in Georgia - Monday, November 22, 2010

A Channel 2 Consumer Investigation found counterfeit medicine pouring into Georgia. Channel 2 found that bargain drugs ordered online, supposedly from Canada, are often bogus and manufactured in China or South America.

Counterfeit homeopathy drugs - Sunday, October 24, 2010

The faking of homeopathy drugs, a common act of deception, came to the fore when early last week a team of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) raided a factory at Babubazar area in old Dhaka city which was producing spurious remedies.

Counterfeit drug sting turns up erectile and heart drugs - Friday, October 15, 2010

Wellington, Oct 15 NZPA - Drugs used for the treatment of heart disease and erectile disfunction were among the medicines intercepted by customs during a week-long global operation targeting the online sale of counterfeit pharmaceuticals.
read more ...

Eight arrested in China over fake rabies vaccines - Sunday, September 26, 2010

Eight people have been arrested in southern China for producing and selling fake rabies vaccines that were used by local clinics and led to the death of a four-year-old boy, state media said Monday.

Growing problem of fake drugs hurting patients, companies - Sunday, September 12, 2010

Counterfeit drugs made in Asia and other emerging markets are a growing problem that's endangering consumers' health and chipping away at drug companies' profits.

Fake drugs: Poison pills - Thursday, September 02, 2010

Counterfeit drugs used to be a problem for poor countries; now they threaten the rich world too. read more ...

How consumers can protect themselves from counterfeit drugs - Thursday, July 29, 2010

A precise count of just how many fake medications currently sit in the world’s medicine cabinets does not exist. The best “guesstimate” is that one percent of drugs in the developed world, including the U.S. and Europe, are counterfeit, says Paul Newton, a doctor at the University of Oxford’s Center for Tropical Medicine, in Laos.

A dose of charges for alleged sale of counterfeit drugs - Friday, July 16, 2010

A 44-year-old Orland Park man is alleged to have made more than $100,000 selling thousands of items falsely bearing the name Pfizer Inc. read more ...

Fake prescription drugs surpass heroin - Sunday, July 11, 2010

$450,000. That's how much pharmaceutical counterfeiters can make from $1,000 in seed money, according to Aline Plancon, an Interpol officer who investigates the fake-prescription-drug trade. read more ...

The booming market in counterfeit slimming pills - Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Down in a central London basement lies the evidence of the growing trade in counterfeit diet pills. read more ...

Man sold fake sex stimulants - Monday, June 14, 2010

Sharjah: Police on Saturday arrested an Arab man they said tried to sell more than 62,000 fake sexual stimulants worth Dh4 million.

Another counterfeit erectile dysfunction drug caught - Wednesday, June 02, 2010

The Korea Food and Drug Administration announced on Tuesday that it has caught another counterfeit erectile dysfunction drug.

Dangers lurk in impotence drugs sold on Web - Monday, May 31, 2010

Internet-based companies market them, men continue to buy them and experts continue to warn of the dangers of counterfeit drugs for erectile dysfunction. read more ...

More counterfeit drugs seen around the globe - Wednesday, May 19, 2010

GENEVA - Production and sale of counterfeit drugs is on the rise in rich and poor countries, with more unwary consumers buying them over the Internet, experts warned Wednesday.

Counterfeit drugs on the rise, pose global threat: WHO - Wednesday, May 19, 2010

"They put people at risk of harm from medical products that may contain too much, too little, or the wrong active ingredient and/or contain toxic ingredients," said Margaret Hamburg, head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

IFPMA backs WHO to lead anti-counterfeit fight - Wednesday, May 12, 2010

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations today unveiled 10 principles on counterfeit medicines in a bid to "re-focus" the drug industry's stance on the fight against the trade.

Canadian man pleads guilty to selling counterfeit cancer drugs on the Internet - Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Hazim Gaber, 22, of Edmonton, Canada, pleaded guilty today in Phoenix before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward C. Voss to selling counterfeit cancer drugs using the Internet, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke for the District of Arizona and FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Office Nathan T. Gray.

USTR lists counterfeit drug hotspots in annual report - Monday, May 03, 2010

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has expressed particular concern about the proliferation of counterfeit drugs in countries including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Russia.

MEPs want crack-down on counterfeit medicines - Tuesday, April 27, 2010

MEPs vote for tougher action against counterfeit medicines, including a crack-down on fake drugs sold over the internet.

Two charged in scheme to sell fake drugs - Thursday, March 25, 2010

A Chinese national arrested in Hawaii faces charges that he manufactured and imported fake weight-loss medication with ingredients that could cause headaches, anxiety and chills, authorities said on Thursday. read more ...

The World Health Organization now estimates that about 30% of all prescription drugs on the market are counterfeit.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5796287&page=1

Fake Pharmaceuticals: Increase In Counterfeit Anti-Malarial Drugs Prompts Call For Crackdown And Better Detection. ScienceDaily (Jun. 20, 2006) — A worsening epidemic of sophisticated anti-malarial drug counterfeiting in southeast Asia and Africa is increasing the likelihood of drug-resistant parasites, yielding false-positive results on screening tests and risking the lives of hundreds of thousands of malaria patients, mostly children, researchers say.
- http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060619005440.htm

It is estimated that more than 10% of the global medicines market is accounted for by counterfeit drugs. They are present in all regions but the problem is especially big in developing countries. 25% of the medicines consumed in those countries are believed to be counterfeit, and in some countries, the figure is thought to be as high as 50%.
- (World Health Organization)

The Global Threat of Counterfeit Drugs: Why Industry and Governments Must Communicate the Dangers
- March 14, 2005 (Public Library of Science)

Does price reveal poor-quality drugs? findings from Dr Roger Bate's latest research (to be published November 2011) into substandard and counterfeit medicine suggests that price and appearance are not necessarily reliable indicators of whether drugs are poor quality or not.... click here to find out more.

The real danger of counterfeit medicines
Purchasing prescription-only medicines without a prescription from unregulated sources has a number of risks. Buying prescription-only medicine without having seen a healthcare professional means you may not have a proper diagnosis of your problem. Click here for Pfizer's 'real danger' website, giving the lowdown on the dangers posed by counterfeit drugs and how to avoid them.

Can you answer YES to any of these questions?
Does your doctor prescribe a drug for you that addresses an ongoing medical problem (like high blood pressure, cholesterol or GERD)?

Does your doctor prescribe, or do you receive as an injectable or infused drug for a specialized disease such as cancer, Parkinson's disease or any other drug that is very expensive (even if it is your insurance or Medicare that pays for it)?

Does your doctor prescribe any expensive drug for you in any form of tablet, caplet, gelcap?

Do you take any lifestyle drugs, like Viagra, or sleep drugs like Ambien?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions (or if a friend or loved one might answer yes) then you may have already been a victim of counterfeit drugs, or you may be victimized in the future.
(Extract from Counterfeit Drugs – from Organised Crime to Neighborhood Pharmacies, by patient advocate Trisha Torrey, click here to read more)

Antimalarial drug quality in the most severely malarious parts of Africa – A six country study
35% of all samples tested failed either or both tests, and were substandard. Further, 33% of treatments collected were artemisinin monotherapies, most of which (78%) were manufactured in disobservance of an appeal by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to withdraw these clinically inappropriate medicines from the market. The high persistence of substandard drugs and clinically inappropriate artemisinin monotherapies in the private sector risks patient safety and, through drug resistance, places the future of malaria treatment at risk globally.
Extract from a study by Roger Bate, Amir Attaran, Philip Coticelli and Richard Tren, click here to read more.

How easy is it to import unapproved drugs to sell online and how easy is it for consumers to end up with products that might not be safe?
“Regardless of the legality, federal officials say buying drugs online from other countries is risky because customers may be getting fake, expired or adulterated medications”. Read this in depth article from the San Francisco Chronicle to find out more background to the issue of drug purchasing on the Internet, including tips from the FDA on what to look out for.

Counterfeit and fake supplements - (watch out for these) click here to read more

A Safe Medicines Chest for the World - a new report revealing the levels of counterfeit and substandard drugs affecting India's domestic pharmaceuticals market. Click here to find out more and to download a copy of the report.

Recently there has been a lot of discussion about the dangers of buying drugs online from so-called 'rogue' Internet pharmacies. This is a subject that No to Fakes has dealt with in the past, for example in our expert feature interviews with John Horton and Jim Thomson.

If you are interested in buying drugs online, it is highly advisable to do your research into the company you are considering making your purchase from. And the good news is there is lots of advice available to help you make your purchase. Make full use of the wealth of information such as features and news links available on this site, as well as looking at what other organizations have to offer. One useful resource to use in your vetting process would be LegitScript, the first and only Internet pharmacy verification and monitoring service recognized by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and maintains the world's largest database of Internet pharmacies.

BestPharmGuide.com has a monthly updated list of top-rated online pharmacies and provides candid reviews of, currently, up to 99 online pharmacies.

One online pharmacy that encourages an understanding of the issue of counterfeit drugs is PharmacyEscrow.com. In their promotional video entitled The Risk of Counterfeit Drugs, it appears that this company is taking the issue seriously, however we encourage you to make your own enquiries and judgments before going ahead and ordering your drugs online from this or any other online pharmacy.

Click here to read a useful article on ordering medication safely online. The FDA also offers advice on its website for buying medicines over the internet.

Center for Medicine in the Public Interest (CMPI) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization promoting innovative solutions that advance medical progress, reduce health disparities, extend life and make health care more affordable, preventive and patient-centered. CMPI also provides the public, policymakers and the media with a reliable source of independent scientific analysis on issues ranging from personalized medicine, food and drug safety, health care reform and comparative effectiveness.

Click here to view CMPI reports on counterfeiting. Click here to read the CMPI testimony Counterfeit Drugs and China.

DrugAlert.org is a comprehensive database featuring information and news alerts about potentially dangerous drugs currently on the market or previously available worldwide. The Web site is dedicated to keeping the public informed about drug recalls, side effects, and pending litigation associated with various drugs and their manufacturers

Drug Information DrugWatch.com is a comprehensive website featuring extensive information about thousands of different medications and drugs currently on the market or previously available worldwide. DrugWatch.com includes up-to-date information about prescription and over-the-counter medications and includes details about associated drug side effects to aid in the protection of patients and consumers.

European Alliance for Access to Safe Medicines (EAASM) is an independent, cross-sector patient safety Alliance campaigning for the exclusion of counterfeit and substandard medicines from the supply chain. Raising public awareness of the issues surrounding counterfeit medicines forms a key part of the activities of the EAASM.

International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization representing industry associations from both developed and developing countries. Member companies of the IFPMA are the major global research-based pharmaceutical and vaccine companies.

International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIPS) is a global federation of national associations representing 2 million pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists around the world. Click here to read about FIPS' action on counterfeit drugs.

International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT) is an anti-counterfeiting taskforce created by WHO (see below). At its core, IMPACT aims to build coordinated networks across and between countries in 0rder to halt the production, trading and selling of fake medicines around the globe. IMPACT is a partnership comprised of all the major anti-counterfeiting players, including: international organizations, non-governmental organizations, enforcement agencies, pharmaceutical manufacturers associations and drug and regulatory authorities. Click here to read IMPACT's publication Counterfeit Drugs Kill!.

International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization representing industry associations from both developed and developing countries. Member companies of the IFPMA are the major global research-based pharmaceutical and vaccine companies.

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the UK governmental agency which is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe.

Partnership for Safe Medicines comprises a group of organizations and individuals that have policies, procedures, or programmes to protect consumers from counterfeit or contraband medicines. They have a lot of information on the issues of fakes drugs and how to spot genuine products, and issue alerts as new counterfeit and substandard products are identified on the market.

Permanent Forum on International Pharmaceutical Crime (PFIPC) is an international enforcement forum aimed at protecting public health and safety through the exchange of information and ideas to foster mutual cooperation.

Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI) was established in 2002 by the Security Directors from fourteen major pharmaceutical companies as a not-for-profit corporation based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Working with its members PSI has developed improved systems to identify the extent of the problem and to assist in coordinating international inquiries. PSI maintains a close affiliation with the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) detailed above. The IFPMA Director-General serves as the PSI President.

Pharma Pieces (blog) is a pharmaceutical and healthcare consultancy founded by Mark Davison, an industry executive, consultant and author of Pharmaceutical Anti-counterfeiting (John Wiley & Son ). His regular blogs provide great insight into the issues and debates surrounding counterfeit drugs and he also provides useful information on avoiding fake medicines.

SecuringPharma.com offers pharmaceutical anti-counterfeiting news. SecuringPharma.com is a free-to-access information service that covers the issues surrounding counterfeit medicines and supply chain security in the pharmaceutical industry.Their aim is to provide practical advice and market intelligence to help drugmakers keep up-to-date with developments in the field and define their own strategies to safeguard the supply chain, from raw materials right through to the patient.

The Wellcome Trust is a global charity, independent of both political and commercial interests, dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. As such The Wellcome Trust offers a wide variety of funding schemes, including Investigator Awards, fellowships and Strategic Awards, and also support several major initiatives. On October 26th 2009, the Wellcome Trust teamed up with the American Pharmaceutical Group to hold an opinion-formers conference on counterfeit medicines to help raise awareness and take forward this important issue. Click here to download the conference report and briefing.

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for protecting the public health in the United States by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation. The FDA is very active in disseminating information about counterfeit products in this industry.

World Health Organization (WHO) is the United Nations specialized agency for health and was established on 7 April 1948. Its objective, as set out in its Constitution, is the attainment of the highest possible level of health for all people around the globe. Health is defined in WHO's Constitution as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. As such, it plays a key role in tackling the issues of counterfeit and substandard pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

Click here for counterfeit news and information relating to specific brands in the pharmaceutical sector.

AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a drug maker that has taken steps to protect its drugs from being counterfeited. Click here to read an article from 2007 detailing AstraZeneca's anti-counterfeiting measures.

Bayer HealthCare

Counterfeit drug information from Bayer HealthCare - Drug counterfeiting has developed into a serious, global problem over the last few years. The problem of counterfeits has been growing even in countries with strict regulations on the manufacture and sale of drugs.Click here to access more information directly from Bayer HealthCare, including information about counterfeit drugs in other countries.

Eli Lilly

Eli Lilly is the maker of well-known brands such as Cialis, Evista and Zyprexa, all of which have been counterfeited. See our Pharmaceutical sector for more information concerning the counterfeiting of these brands.

GlaxoSmithKlein

GSK produces medicines that treat six major disease areas: asthma, virus control, infections, mental health, diabetes and digestive conditions. There have recently (2010) been concerns about counterfeit versions of the GSK wieght-loss drug Alli. Click here to read about GSK's position on counterfeiting of healthcare products.

Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson produces a wide range of healthcare products ranging from consumer items such as skin creams and lotions to analgesics, medical devices and endoscopic surgery products, to name but a few. The company has faced significant problems with counterfeiting of is skincare products, click here to read more.

Pfizer

Pfizer is the drug maker behind the famous Viagra brand. There has been much publicity about counterfeit Viagra, puchased both online and of the streets (see our Thailand Travel Advisory). Click here to for links to articles on counterfeit Viagra. Click here for a link to information from Pfizer about counterfeit drugs. In early 2009 Pfizer launched its real danger campaign which firstly involved a cinema advertisement that became known as the recently 'regurgitated rat', anti-counterfeiting campaign. In November 2009, Pfizer followed up with a televsion ad that was equally as hard-hitting in highlighting the intrinsic dangers involved in purchasing prescription drugs from unregulated sources.

Ad watchdog may look at dead rat ad once again - Click here to read more.

Click here to read more about Pfizer-sponsored survey into European spending on counterfeit drugs.

Roche

Pharmaceuticals produced by Roche include those used to treat viral infections, metabolic, central nervous system disorders and inflammatory diseases. The anti-viral vaccine Tamiflu is among one of the company's best known brands and it is also one that has been targeted by the counterfeiters. Click here for links to articles about counterfeit Tamiflu.

Sanofi-aventis

Sanofi-aventis is a multi-national drug manufacturer of drugs focusing on the areas of diabetes, thrombosis and oncology. Sanofi-aventis aims to make an effective contribution to combating counterfeit drugs. Click here to read more about Sanofi-aventis' efforts to fight counterfeit versions of its drugs entering the market.

Eli Lilly victim of drug heist - Wednesday, March 17, 2010

$75 million worth of pharmaceuticals were stolen from one of the drug maker's warehouses.

Using mobile phones to fight counterfeit medicine - Monday, March 15, 2010

I've written before here about the scourge of poor-quality and counterfeit medicine around the globe -- a crisis that some estimate kills up to 700,000 people a year. It's a problem everywhere, but particularly in the developing world: in Madagascar and Senegal, for example, up to 44% of medicine fail all quality testing.

FDA issues warning on counterfeit surgical mesh - Thursday, March 11, 2010

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today warned health care providers and consumers about counterfeit surgical mesh being distributed in the United States under the C. R. Bard/Davol brand name. Surgical mesh products are used to reinforce soft tissue where weakness exists.

Europeans spend billions on fake medicines: survey - Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Western Europeans spend an estimated 10.5 billion euros ($14.3 billion) a year on illicitly sourced medicines, many of them counterfeit, according to a Pfizer-sponsored survey published on Tuesday

Police accuse man of operating counterfeit prescription drug business from his car - Sunday, December 27, 2009

Authorities say a Portland man on federal probation has been operating a counterfeit prescription drug business out of his vehicle, sending others to fill fraudulent prescriptions at metro-area pharmacies, then reselling the pills for profit.

Say no to counterfeit drugs - Friday, December 18, 2009

The Senate this week wisely rejected an amendment to health reform legislation, which would have exposed U.S. patients to potentially counterfeit drugs from abroad.

Counterfeit drugs and internet smarts - Monday, November 23, 2009

More public education would help stem the problem of fake pharmaceuticals—restricting Internet trade would not.

The Sun joins undercover police as sales of dangerous counterfeit medicines soar - Friday, November 20, 2009

There is big money being made in counterfeit medicines, which are sold mainly on the internet. The market is believed to be worth around £45 million a year.

U.S. part of global crackdown on counterfeit drugs - Friday, November 20, 2009

In highly orchestrated raids around the world this week, Interpol officers in Europe, drug agents in the United States and task forces from Sweden to Singapore hunted down counterfeit prescription drugs in an effort to stem a rapidly growing criminal business preying on financially pressed consumers looking for bargains.

Fake medicines seized as websites are shut down - Friday, November 20, 2009

The public are being warned of the dangers of buying unlicensed medicines on the internet. The alert comes as hundreds of websites are being shut down for selling fake or illicit drugs around the world.

Fake H1N1 drugs being sold on the Internet - Tuesday, November 17, 2009

According to Fox News gangs are making millions of dollars by selling fake versions of the H1N1 drugs Tamiflu and Relenza online.

Amid H1N1 swine flu symtoms fears, criminals sell fake drugs and make millions - Tuesday, November 17, 2009

A British security firm named Sophos added its voice on November 16th to those of health officials decrying the purchase of antiviral drugs off the internet for the treatment of H1N1 symptoms, most or all of which are fake. read more ...

Bogus online drug sales on the riseWeb security firm Sophos reported Monday that some online crimina - Monday, November 16, 2009

Web security firm Sophos reported Monday that some online criminals are attempting to sell fake flu drug doses to unsuspecting customers in hopes of cashing in on public fears sparked by the H1N1 swine flu pandemic. read more ...

Health Canada warns people not to buy unauthorized products to fight H1N1 - Thursday, November 05, 2009

OTTAWA — As flu activity picks up across the country, federal authorities are warning Canadians not to buy unauthorized products from the Internet or other sources that claim to fight the H1N1 virus.

Ad warning of fake drugs reaches small screen - Wednesday, November 04, 2009

A notorious advert warning of the dangers of buying medicines from unregulated websites - which shows a man taking a pill and regurgitating a rat - has had its first airing on terrestrial television in the UK.

Hip-hop star leads campaign against fake drugs - Sunday, November 01, 2009

As part of activities to mark his 10th anniversary as an artiste, hip-hop star, Tuface Idibia has entered into partnership with Love Idoko’s Motivation Magazine, to stage a campaign against fake drugs in Benue State.

Attorney General warns consumers about fake H1N1 products - Thursday, October 29, 2009

Arizona’s Attorney General issued a warning for consumers on Thursday, cautioning everyone to be wary of products sold online that claim to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure the H1N1 flu virus.

Growing threat of substandard and counterfeit medicines addressed by USAID-USP cooperative agreement - Monday, October 26, 2009

With substandard and counterfeit versions of medicines intended to treat life-threatening diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis posing a growing threat throughout the developing world, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)and the U.S. Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention will expand their joint efforts to combat this menace by launching a new program over the next five years.

EU firms pilot Swedish scheme to stop fake drugs - Tuesday, October 20, 2009

European drugmakers said on Tuesday they were piloting an anti-counterfeit coding system in Sweden in a bid to end the risk of fake medicines entering the supply chain.

FDA warns of unapproved and illegal H1N1 drug products purchased over the Internet - Thursday, October 15, 2009

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today warned consumers to use extreme care when purchasing any products over the Internet that claim to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure the H1N1 influenza virus. The warning comes after the FDA recently purchased and analyzed several products represented online as Tamiflu (oseltamivir), which may pose risks to patients.

How to stop the counterfeit medicine drugs trade - Thursday, October 08, 2009

The next time you're tempted to buy Viagra, Lipitor or some other medication online, ponder this: there's a high likelihood that what you buy will be fake.

EU anti-counterfeiting proposal "cannot ignore" internet - Monday, October 05, 2009

The European Commission’s proposed directive to clamp down on counterfeit medicines “cannot ignore” the reality that a “huge percentage” of counterfeits are channelled through the internet, says the new rapporteur for the proposal in Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI).

IBM study reveals drug companies struggle with counterfeiting - Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Counterfeiting is one of the biggest risks facing the pharmaceutical industry today. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 10 percent of the worldwide drug supply is counterfeit.

WHO to revive talks on fake drugs - Friday, September 04, 2009

Months after the member countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) failed to arrive at a consensus over the introduction of a new definition for “counterfeit medicines”, the multilateral agency has once again revived talks on the counterfeit issue.

Report: Global aAnti-counterfeit market for food and pharmaceuticals worth US$79.3 billion by 2014 - Wednesday, September 02, 2009

According to a new market research report, 'Global Anti Counterfeit market for Food and Pharmaceuticals (2009-2014)', published by MarketsandMarkets, the global anti counterfeit market for food and pharmaceuticals market is expected to be worth US$79.3 billion by 2014, with an estimated CAGR of 8.6% from 2009 to 2014.

Counterfeit culture - it's not just Gucci bags and Rolex watches anymore - Sunday, August 30, 2009

If you see vanilla extract at a price that’s too good to be true, it just may be a fake. And a dangerous fake, according to the FDA. Vanilla extracts containing coumarin, a substance used in rat poison, are still made in Mexico and Latin America.

Counterfeit drug menace rages on in Asia - Friday, August 28, 2009

In the last many years, drug counterfeiting has been growing in Southeast Asian region, besides India and China. WHO estimates that as many as 30 percent of medicines sold in some regions of Southeast Asia are counterfeit.

Fraudulent H1N1 influenza products - Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The FDA is warning consumers about fraudulent swine flu (H1N1) products that are mainly being sold on the Internet.

No country immune to menace of counterfeit medicines - Thursday, April 23, 2009

Counterfeit drugs are not readily available in the UAE, they still exist since dealing in fake medicines can be lucrative, say experts.

Counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs distributed - Saturday, March 28, 2009

A Dallas man was convicted Monday of conspiring to distribute counterfeit pharmaceuticals, and trafficking in pharmaceuticals bearing false labeling and counterfeit trademarks.

Americas Watchdogs warns the world about Chinese counterfeit pharmaceuticals & cigarettes - Monday, March 16, 2009

Americas Watchdogs' Global Piracy & Counterfeiting Consultants is the most quoted group in the world on product counterfeiting and piracy. The group is predicting that in 2009 global counterfeiting of pharmaceuticals will grow to $150 billion US dollars worldwide & China alone, will produce over 200,000,000,000 counterfeit cigarettes.

Fake Internet drugs risk lives and fund terrorism - Tuesday, January 27, 2009

In one scheme, Americans buying fake Viagra on the internet were actually helping to fund Middle East terrorism, unknowingly jeopardising the lives of men and women serving in their own armed forces.

Health fears grow as fake drugs flood into Britain - Sunday, January 04, 2009

Counterfeiting gangs based in China are producing sophisticated copies of the world's bestselling pharmaceuticals. In 2008 an estimated 8m of these potentially deadly pills found their way to NHS patients. The health of millions of people is at risk.

Fake erectile dysfunction drugs flooding Vancouver - Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Police and customs agencies are intercepting frequent shipments of counterfeit erectile dysfunction drugs coming into Canada through Vancouver, an RCMP expert attempting to rein in the illegal industry said Monday.