FDA Cracks Down On Online Pharmacies Selling Counterfeit Drugs Posted: June 30, 2013 Author: Jennifer Walker-Journey

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Interpol are cracking down on online pharmacies for selling counterfeit or substandard medication, or selling drugs without appropriate safeguards. To date, 1,677 sites have been shut down and several others have received warnings. Fifty-eight people have been arrested and more than $41 million worth of illegal medications have been seized.

Many of these illegal pharmacies have names similar to legitimate pharmacies. For example, one of the online pharmacies the agencies have closed is Walgreens-Store.com, a play off of the legitimate Walgreens.com website.

Many of these sites advertise popular drugs such as Viagra and Celebrex. However, the drugs actually contain fake ingredients. The agencies say it is difficult to know how many deaths or serious reactions these errant medications have caused.

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy recently assessed more than 10,000websites for online pharmacies and found that 97 percent fell short of meeting state and federal guidelines, and 88 percent did not require a valid prescription. Nearly half of the pharmacies reviewed sold medications that had not been approved by the FDA.

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy features an approved list of online pharmacies. If in doubt, consumers can verify the authenticity of a site first, if the website asks for a valid prescription, and secondly if they have a licensed pharmacist available for consultation. The pharmacy should also be located in the United States and licensed in the state where the website is registered.

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Victims Of Fungal Meningitis Outbreak Deserve Compensation For Their Pain And Suffering Posted: May 21, 2013 Author: Jennifer Walker-Journey

The days when Brian Kennedy can rate his pain as an 8 out of 10 are “good days,” but most often it feels more like a 9 or 10 even with the potent painkiller oxycodone in his system. Kennedy is one of the 741 people across the country who developed a fungal infection after receiving a steroid shot that was contaminated at the compounding pharmacy where it was manufactured.

Kennedy’s infection attacked the membrane of his spinal cord and brain, causingmeningitis. He had to endure heavy doses of antibiotics that were just as sickening as the infection itself, causing him to drop 60 pounds and lose most of his hair. After 21 days in the hospital, Kennedy was deemed strong enough to undergosurgery to treat the infection. He now has to wear a body brace. But Kennedy is considered lucky. Fifty-five of the people who developed fungal meningitis from the tainted shots have died.

About 18,000 contaminated steroid shots used to treat back, neck or joint painwere shipped to medical facilities across the country between late May and late September 2012. The shots were manufactured by New England Compounding Center (NECC). The incident has raised concerns regarding the oversight of compounding pharmacies that mass produce custom-mixed drugs and ship them across state lines. Inspections during the past several months have prompted therecall of sterile products from numerous compounding pharmacies due to sterility concerns.

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