Fight Colorectal Cancer, along with five other cancer groups, has sent a letter to Congress urging action to protect patients from counterfeit or unsafe medicines.
In February 2012, vials of fake Avastin (bevacizumab) were distributed in the United States. Avastin is a critical drug for metastatic colorectal cancer patients. The fake vials did not include bevacizumab at all – which could have put patients at great risk.
Counterfeit Adderall
The FDA is warning consumers about counterfeit Adderall advertised on the Internet.
The fake pills are not made by Teva Pharmaceuticals, contain none of the active Adderall ingredients, and instead have ingredients that may be dangerous.
Adderall is a stimulant approved by the FDA to treat attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy, but is occasionally prescribed off-label for cancer-related fatigue.
It is currently listed in shortage due to manufacturing problems at Teva. Read the rest of this entry »
The counterfeit drug trade has reached global proportions, and solving the problem needs a global approach.
So says an editorial in this week’s The Lancet.
While the Avastin announcement last week raised lots of concern and media attention, the issue of counterfeit drugs isn’t new. In 2009, the European Union seized 34 million fake pills in just two months, including antibiotics, cancer drugs, and sildenafil (Viagra). Counterfeit medicines are a problem for both low and high income countries and can seriously hurt patients.
In January the FDA warned healthcare providers not to buy injectable cancer medications from “direct-to-clinic” promotions or non-verified sources. Such drugs, says the FDA, put patients at risk. Read the rest of this entry »
The Food and Drug Adminstration and Genentech have reported that counterfeit Avastin is being distributed in the United States. The counterfeit medicine does not contain
bevacizumab, Avastin’s active ingredient.
The packaging is different from genuine Avastin marketed here by Genentech. It includes a Roche logo which isn’t on the real drug, along with different codes.
Avastin is not in shortage now, and there are adequate supplies to meet the need.
Patients being treated with Avastin are urged to let their doctors know immediately if they have unusual symptoms. Read the rest of this entry »
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