Cooperation among international pharmacy regulatory agencies and tightening the United States drug distribution chain would help protect global public health from substandard and falsified drugs, indicates a new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The report, “Countering the Problem of Falsified and Substandard Drugs,” explains that “[b]ad drugs pose potential threats around the world” with data showing that “falsified or substandard drugs were sold in at least 124 countries in 2011.” The IOM report recommends restricting the wholesale market in the US to distributors accredited by NABP’s Verified-Accredited Wholesale Distributors^® (VAWD^®) program, and advises that this action would not only improve the security of the drug distribution chain in the US, but also “build momentum for better controls” in developing countries. IOM also recommends that the US Food and Drug Administration should be authorized and funded to implement a track and trace system that would use technology such as barcodes to track drug products from manufacturer to patient. The report also details the dangers posed by illegal online drug sellers, indicates that “independent accreditation is a useful tool for consumers trying to make sense of the chaotic world of online pharmacy,” and notes that NABP’s Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites^CM (VIPPS^®) accreditation program “should be more widely promoted as a valuable consumer tool.” Further, IOM suggests that a voluntary international agreement could help to address substandard drugs in the global market by encouraging uniform regulatory and law enforcement systems. A report brief (PDF) is available on the IOM Web site as well as a link to an online version of the report.