During the week, the FDA screened all drugs entering the United States through international mail facilities. Three main companies — CanadaDrugs.com, Eyal Bar Oz and Arkadiy Kisin/White Forest Solutions — were linked to most of the 4,100 illegal pharmacies, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. They received warning letters from the FDA, stating that their websites were offering unapproved drugs to U.S. consumers. The companies were given 10 days to respond to the allegations, and it is not known if they have done so. The FDA also notified Internet service providers that the websites were selling illegal products.
Among the most common drugs for sale on these websites were illegal versions of erectile dysfunction drugs Viagra, Levitra and Cialis; unapproved contraceptive Norplant; an unapproved generic version of influenza treatment Tamiflu; unapproved antibiotic Baycip TZ; and a dangerous drug for stomach disorders, Bloomberg reports.
“Consumers in the United States and around the world face a real threat from Internet pharmacies that illegally sell potentially substandard, counterfeit, adulterated or otherwise unsafe medicines,” FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in a statement that was reported by Reuters. “This week’s efforts show that strong international enforcement efforts are required to combat this global public health problem.”
Clinical Psychiatry News, citing the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP), points out that counterfeit drug sales surpassed $75 billion worldwide in 2010, which is a 90 percent increase over 2009.