Counterfeit cancer drug raises security questions
24.05.12
Medical experts are citing the need for tighter security to protect medications in the supply chain after the Food and Drug Administration reported a counterfeit version of Avastin, a treatment for colon cancer.
Avastin is a type of drug known as a biologic_a medication produced through genetic technology. It is also the most widely sold cancer therapeutic in the world.
The fake Avastin joined a list of other injectable cancer drugs copied by counterfeiters. Last month, the FDA announced that black market versions of the breast cancer drug Faslodex and the lymphoma medication Rituxan had infiltrated the pharmaceutical supply chain.
Doctors, pharmacists and others in the health-care industry are outraged because profiteers are targeting cancer patients.
Dr. Francis Arena, a New Hyde Park, N.Y., oncologist, called on the pharmaceutical industry to implement tighter drug security.
"We live in an era of very sophisticated computer technology," Arena said. "You would think someone could figure out how to keep medicines safe.
Source: OregonLive.com