Posting #2
Topic: Health
Title: FDA commissioner talks counterfeit drugs
Author: Caleb Hellerman
Publication Name: CNN
Date of Publication: March 15th, 2012
Length of article: 2 pages
Main Ideas
The FDA recently announced that 19 hospitals and medical centers in America purchased a counterfeit version of Avastin, an expensive and commonly used cancer drug. Production of counterfeit cancer drugs may be encouraged by the ongoing shortage of cancer drugs.
Thankfully, an early warning from colleagues in other countries allowed the FDA to identify distributors before any patients were harmed. However, this error is a signal for the FDA to work harder with the law enforcement and the patient community in order to ensure safety of drugs. It is difficult for a health care provider to identify a fake drug, because some of the fakes are very good. The FDA is eager to work with Congress, which is considering legislation that gives FDA a stronger authority and a better system for tracking drugs. Right now, 40% of finished drugs and 80% of active ingredients come from other countries, there are 150 or so different countries that these can come from.
Conclusion
A counterfeit version of Avastin, a commonly used expensive cancer drug, was purchased in 19 medical facilities in America. Although no patients were harmed, the FDA is working on a better system that gives them more control, in case of a greater problem. Another issue closely related to counterfeit drugs is drug shortage, which encourages illegal markets to fill in gaps with counterfeit drugs.
If the FDA and 19 hospitals in america can be fooled by fake drugs it says something about how they have become negligent in their duties. Duties that ensure that our patients in america get what they need to get better and ensure a long life. The fact that they never caught on themselves says that they might need to test drugs more often for the authenticity of varoius drugs.
ReplyDelete