Illegal distribution of diverted medications halted

AORN Journal,  June, 2005  

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The US Food and Drug Administration and the US Attorney for the District of Utah have announced a series of indictments against a number of prescription medication distributors, according to an April 29, 2005, news release from Biomedical Market Newsletter, Inc. The illegal distribution of diverted medications could affect the safety and efficacy of more than 40 medications purchased by consumers in at least 80 pharmacies worldwide.

Diverted medications are medications illegally bought, sold, or otherwise circulated outside established distribution systems that assure their quality. Individual pharmacies may be unaware that the product they are buying from a distributor has been diverted and may have been affected adversely by improper handling, storage, or transportation.

A list of the pharmacies and Locations that may have received suspect medications from these distributors is available at http://sacserv.com/links .jsp?linkid=19631&subid=3647834&campid=141518& type=0. The web site also provides a List of the specific types of medications that were diverted and the unauthorized distributors. Both Lists will be updated as needed.

Unless a medication named on the List has been purchased from a pharmacy Listed as having received products from one of the Listed distributors, it can be presumed to be safe and effective. Consumers who have purchased listed medications from the Listed pharmacies should not use them but instead should notify their health care provider immediately.

Feds and FDA Seize Prescription Drugs From Distributors (news release, Costa Mesa, Calif: Biomedical Market Newsletter, Inc, April 29, 2005).

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