FDA Discovers Fake Drugs Being Sold on Canadian Websites

U.S. officials have intercepted and seized thousands of prescriptions in recent months filled by Mediplan Prescription Plus Pharmacy, also known as Mediplan Global Health. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, testing performed on the drugs revealed that the Canadian versions of some widely-used prescription drugs offered through Mediplan-affiliated websites are not what they say they are. The sites include RxNorth.com, CanadianDrugstore.com and RxByFax.com. The FDA’s website lists all the websites involved in their investigation and provides more information about the specific drugs that should not be taken.

According to FDA Associate Commissioner Randall Lutter, testing by FDA labs has revealed counterfeit versions of the cholesterol drugs Lipitor and Crestor, blood-pressure medication Diovan, the painkiller Celebrex, baldness treatment Propecia, and five other prescription drugs. The FDA said that its tests showed that some of the drugs contain the active ingredients in the genuine versions sold in the United States, but at much lower concentrations. Lutter said that the differences could put some patients at serious risk, since they aren’t getting the dosages prescribed by their doctor. The FDS testing is ongoing.

Andrew Strempler, the president and chief executive of Mediplan Global Health, defended his company and said that Mediplan regularly tests the drugs it sells and they are safe and reliable. "U.S. drug companies, along with the FDA, are really starting to target companies like ours," he said. "These allegations are completely false." Drugs ordered through the Mediplan-linked sites that were intercepted by U.S. officials were not shipped from Canada, according to the FDA. Strempler said that the drugs his company sells are usually produced for markets in Canada, Britain, New Zealand, and Australia. He would not discuss which countries ship the drugs out. "I hesitate to put that information out there because it’s another way they target us," he said.

A spokesman for Canada’s federal health department, Paul Duchesne, said, "We are investigating, and if there are any safety concerns we will be sure to alert the public." Lutter said that consumers who ordered drugs through any of the Mediplan-linked websites should not use the medications, and should talk to their doctors and have their prescriptions refilled in the United States. Importing drugs into the United States is illegal because the FDA cannot guarantee the safety and efficacy of imported drugs, although the FDA generally does not stop small shipments purchased for personal use.