FDA WARNING: Counterfeit Drugs Enter the Supply Chain
In a Fall 2006 release, the FDA urged consumers not to buy drugs on line from Canadian pharmacies. The FDA’s 2005 crackdown found that 85% of drugs intercepted from “Canadian pharmacies,” actually came from 27 other countries.
In particular, the FDA is urging consumers not to purchase any medications from websites that have orders filled by Mediplan Prescription Plus Pharmacy or Mediplan Global Health in Manitoba, Canada. The FDA is currently investigating reports that these companies are involved in the distribution of counterfeit drugs to US consumers.
According to the FDA, some of the websites involved may include:
- www.RxNorth.com;
- www.Canadiandrugstore.com;
- www.Rxbyfax.com;
- www.Northcountryrx.com;
- www.Canada-pharmacy.com;
- www.My-canada-pharmacy.com;
- www.NLRX.com;
- www.Canampharmacy.com;
- www.Canada-Meds-For-Less.net; and
- www.Canadian-safe.com
The FDA has also done testing on some of the prescription drugs from Mediplan and found that the medication were counterfeit, including:
- Lipitor
- Crestor
- Zetia (US name) / Ezetrol (Canadian name)
- Diovan
- Hyzaar
- Actonel
- Nexium
- Celebrex
- Arimidex
- Propecia
The FDA continues to encourage all consumers to be cautious and be aware of the dangerous of counterfeit medications.