Illegal Online Meds Targeted in Worldwide Crackdown Robert Preidt - HealthDay News
go to original May 24, 2014

Illegal online pharmacies that sell unapproved and potentially dangerous prescription drugs to Americans were targeted this week in a worldwide operation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said this week.

More than 19,600 packages containing medicines supposedly from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Great Britain were seized in the action, which involved authorities from 111 countries, the FDA said in a news release.

The packages actually contained unapproved or suspected fake drugs from countries such as China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore and Taiwan, as well as Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain, the agency reported.

In the United States, officials inspected shipments at international mail facilities in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City and seized or detained 583 packages. Many of the packages contained illegal prescription medicines that had been ordered online.

These drugs ordered by U.S. consumers included drugs such as insulin, glaucoma eye drops (bimatoprost), the pain reliever tramadol and medications for erectile dysfunction -- tadalafil and sildenafil citrate. Hormone medications including estrogen and human chorionic gonadotropin were also seized.

"When consumers buy prescription drugs from outside the legitimate supply chain, they cannot know if the medicines they receive are counterfeit or even if they contain the right active ingredient in the proper dosages," Douglas Stearn, director of the FDA's Office of Enforcement and Import Operations, said in an agency news release.

Read the rest at U.S. News & World Report

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