Counterfeit Avastin: Assad State of Affairs

  • by: |
  • 02/24/2012

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal -- About three years before counterfeit copies of Roche Holding AG's cancer drug Avastin surfaced in the U.S., a case in Syria involved fakes of the same drug, showing the company has been grappling with bootlegging of the product for some time.

In 2009, Syrian authorities seized a haul of phony Avastin at a warehouse there, a Roche document shows. The company confirms the case, and acknowledges it has encountered other "individual cases" of counterfeit Avastin in recent years. Until now, the only other known case of Avastin counterfeits, other than the recent U.S. case, was a 2010 incident in Shanghai.

According to officials in law enforcement and the pharmaceutical industry, at least three smugglers were jailed as a result of hauls in Egypt and Syria in 2009 that netted the fake Avastin and other counterfeits drugs. These people said the trio -- who officials said were part of the same counterfeiting network -- were released from Syrian and Egyptian jails last year.

It's unclear whether the Middle East currently produces fake drugs, acts as a transit corridor, or both. Evidence suggests many counterfeits that transit through the Middle East are produced in China. In the same Syrian raids that netted the fake Avastin in 2009, officials found other fake drugs packaged in Chinese-language bags. Authorities also found Chinese-manufactured equipment that the criminals were using to produce fake drugs.

In the 2010 case of counterfeit Avastin that surfaced in Shanghai, 116 patients were given a fake version of the drug. In addition to being used against cancer, Avastin is prescribed to treat an eye disease that causes blindness. The Chinese patients received injections in the eye, and some suffered complications, according to a report on the incident published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine.

CMPI

Center for Medicine in the Public Interest is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization promoting innovative solutions that advance medical progress, reduce health disparities, extend life and make health care more affordable, preventive and patient-centered. CMPI also provides the public, policymakers and the media a reliable source of independent scientific analysis on issues ranging from personalized medicine, food and drug safety, health care reform and comparative effectiveness.

Blog Roll

Alliance for Patient Access Alternative Health Practice
AHRP
Better Health
BigGovHealth
Biotech Blog
BrandweekNRX
CA Medicine man
Cafe Pharma
Campaign for Modern Medicines
Carlat Psychiatry Blog
Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry: A Closer Look
Conservative's Forum
Club For Growth
CNEhealth.org
Diabetes Mine
Disruptive Women
Doctors For Patient Care
Dr. Gov
Drug Channels
DTC Perspectives
eDrugSearch
Envisioning 2.0
EyeOnFDA
FDA Law Blog
Fierce Pharma
fightingdiseases.org
Fresh Air Fund
Furious Seasons
Gooznews
Gel Health News
Hands Off My Health
Health Business Blog
Health Care BS
Health Care for All
Healthy Skepticism
Hooked: Ethics, Medicine, and Pharma
Hugh Hewitt
IgniteBlog
In the Pipeline
In Vivo
Instapundit
Internet Drug News
Jaz'd Healthcare
Jaz'd Pharmaceutical Industry
Jim Edwards' NRx
Kaus Files
KevinMD
Laffer Health Care Report
Little Green Footballs
Med Buzz
Media Research Center
Medrants
More than Medicine
National Review
Neuroethics & Law
Newsbusters
Nurses For Reform
Nurses For Reform Blog
Opinion Journal
Orange Book
PAL
Peter Rost
Pharm Aid
Pharma Blog Review
Pharma Blogsphere
Pharma Marketing Blog
Pharmablogger
Pharmacology Corner
Pharmagossip
Pharmamotion
Pharmalot
Pharmaceutical Business Review
Piper Report
Polipundit
Powerline
Prescription for a Cure
Public Plan Facts
Quackwatch
Real Clear Politics
Remedyhealthcare
Shark Report
Shearlings Got Plowed
StateHouseCall.org
Taking Back America
Terra Sigillata
The Cycle
The Catalyst
The Lonely Conservative
TortsProf
Town Hall
Washington Monthly
World of DTC Marketing
WSJ Health Blog