U.S. Plans Counterfeit Drug Blitz

[Guest guest]

I am sure that you can all figure it out that this isn't to protect consumers,

but to protect the high price of drugs in the USA.

 

F.

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/24/health/main560241.shtml

 

U.S. Plans Counterfeit Drug Blitz

 

AP) A major operation is planned this summer at international mail centers to

counter a flood of counterfeit and unapproved drugs entering the country, the

government said Tuesday.

 

Scientists and inspectors will target, examine and test packages, Elizabeth

Durant of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection told the House Energy and

Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations.

 

Subcommittee Chairman Rep. James Greenwood, R-Pa., observed that the Miami

international mail facility alone receives as many as 7 million packages

containing drugs annually, a flow that has increased sharply in recent years as

a growing number of people order pharmaceuticals through the mail.

 

William Hubbard, associate commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration,

presented a selection of drugs people had bought through the mail that turned

out to be illegal, counterfeit or simply to have no active ingredient at all.

 

Counterfeit drugs can be fake products or may be generic copies of a real drug

made and sold without FDA supervision or approval. Counterfeit drugs have long

been problems in parts of the world. One study found one-third of malaria pills

tested in parts of Asia contained no medication.

 

One Internet site that sells drugs shows an address in the United States but

operates out of Thailand, Hubbard said. Another that claims to be Canadian ships

drugs from India.

 

The FDA has no way to monitor the quality of drugs made abroad, Hubbard said,

and in many cases what arrives has improper labeling or has not been properly

stored or handled.

 

One man spent $1,500 for a four-year supply of a drug that has an expiration

date in August, he said, and another received a vial containing tap water

instead of the vital drug claimed on its label.

 

Durant said the FDA works with her agency in the effort to combat importation of

drugs.

 

She did not detail the blitz campaign planned for this summer other than to say

the two agencies plan to target both mailed drugs and travelers trying to bring

in pharmaceuticals when they return to the United States.

 

Rep. Peter Deutsch, D-Fla., criticized the FDA's efforts in Florida. He said a

staggering amount of drugs was entering the country without agency scrutiny.

 

" Thanks to a lack of leadership by (the Department of Health and Human Services)

to devise some meaningful guidance for field staff, the Miami facility has

become a shock and awe version of FDA mismanagement, " Deutsch said.

 

In particular, Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., was critical of the agency for first

holding and then releasing 1,233 shipments of imported generic Viagra. The

agency then scrambled to warn purchasers that the drug was unapproved and might

not contain the real chemical.

 

Viagra remains under patent protection, so any generic version automatically

would be counterfeit under U.S. law and should not be allowed to be sold in this

country.

 

John Taylor III, associate FDA commissioner, said the agency is reviewing what

happened with that batch of drugs to ensure the mistake doesn't happen again.

 

© MMIII The Associated Press. . This material may not be

published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 

 

 

 

Gettingwell- / Vitamins, Herbs, Aminos, etc.

 

To , e-mail to: Gettingwell-

Or, go to our group site: Gettingwell

 

 

 

SBC DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!