Fake Rx drug raid in UK, exported globally

The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has provided details of a raid in five locations in Stoke-on-Trent, which  netted several thousand suspect pharmaceutical products. The estimated  value of the tablets seized was about GBP250,000 ($350,150), but  investigators believe they have broken up a multi-million pound  operation.

A spokeswoman for the MHRA confirmed to the Marketletter that initial  tests have found at least one of the agents being sold was counterfeit.  There are also concerns that even those products which contain the  correct active ingredient may have been manufactured or stored in  substandard conditions.

The drugs confiscated included a range of items that are typical of  Internet distribution, in some cases because patients are reluctant to  discuss certain conditions with a health professional. In other  instances, it is likely that the products were intended for misuse. The  drugs included erectile dysfunction or hair loss treatments,  anti-depressants, powerful painkillers and anabolic steroids.