The Food and Drug Administration is cautioning the U.S. citizens about risks associated with purchasing prescription over the Internet. This alert is being issued comes from information they collected showing that 24 apparently related Web sites may be responsible for the dispensing of counterfeit prescriptions.
Three times during recent months, The Food And Drug Administration received information that counterfeit Xenical 120 mg capsules, a drug manufactured by Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. (Roche), were purchased by 3 customers from two different Web sites. Xenical is an FDA-approved drug used to assist overweight individuals that meet particular height and weight requirements lose weight and maintain weight loss. None of the capsules ordered from the websites had orlistat. This is the active ingredient in authentic Xenical.
In fact, laboratory analysis conducted by Roche and submitted to the FDA confirmed| the laboratory annalists at Roche conducted and submitted the study to the Food And Drug Administration confirming that one capsule contained sibutramine, which is the active ingredient in Meridia, an FDA-approved prescriptions manufactured by Abbott Laboratories. While this product is also used to lose and maintain weight loss, it should not be used in certain patient populations and therefore is not a substitute for other weight loss products.
In addition, the drug interactions profile vary between Xenical and sibutramine, as is the dosing frequency; sibutramine is administered once a day while Xenical should be taken talc and starch. According to Roche, these two samples displayed a valid Roche lot number of B2306 and were labeled with an expiration date of April 2007. The correct expiration date for this lot number is actually March 2005. The two Web sites identified as involved in this incident as brandpills.com and pillspharm.com.
Additional investigation by FDA concluded that these Web sites are two of 24 Web sites that are posted on the pharmacycall365.com home page under 'websites" heading. Four of these Web sites had been previously identified by Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations as related to the distribution of counterfeit Tamiflu and counterfeit Cialis.
It seems as though these Web sites are being operated from outside of the United States. Consumers should be wary, if there is no way to communicate with the Web site pharmacy by telephone, if prices are significantly less than the competition, or if no prescription is required. FDA strongly cautions the public about purchasing pharmaceuticals from any of these Web sites which may be connected to the distribution of counterfeit drugs and reiterates previous public warnings about buying prescription drugs online.
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