The AP (10/5, Johnson) reported that the FDA announced it is “stepping up its fight against counterfeit and other potentially harmful medicine sold over the Internet. The agency is ordering operators of about 4,100 websites to immediately stop selling unapproved medications to US consumers.” The move is part of a week-long “crackdown by regulatory bodies and law enforcement” worldwide aimed at “making the global medicine supply safer.” In addition, it “follows the FDA’s launch last Friday of a campaign to warn consumers that the vast majority of online pharmacies do not follow laws or pharmacy industry standards and their products could harm or even kill people.” The agency’s campaign includes the new BeSafeRx website, which “explains the risks of fake online pharmacies and how to tell the difference between those websites and legitimate ones.”
Related Links:
— “FDA fights Web pharmacies selling unapproved drugs, “Linda A. Johnson, The Washington Post, October 5, 2012.