The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy^® (NABP^®) recently issued a report emphasizing that the global distribution of counterfeit and substandard medications, fueled by illegal online sellers, demands an international response.

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy^® (NABP^®) today issued a report emphasizing that the global distribution of counterfeit and substandard medications, fueled by illegal online sellers, demands an international response.

By ensuring that only legitimate Internet pharmacies will be able to use its proposed .PHARMACY domain suffix, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy^® (NABP^®) intends to create a secure and trustworthy online space for consumers around the world.

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy^® (NABP^®) today issued a report outlining how continued collaboration among global stakeholders is vital to eliminating the public health threats posed by rogue Internet drug outlets. 

Google has begun running search-based advertising aimed to help educate US consumers about illegal online drug sellers.

The Oregon State Board of Pharmacy and LegitScript took actions to prevent rogue Internet drug outlets from distributing products.

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) today issued a report about the importance of collaboration among members of the international pharmacy community to protect patients worldwide from dangers posed by illegal online drug sellers. As described in the...

Francis Ortiz Gonzalez of Puerto Rico has been convicted of federal charges relating to his involvement in the large scale distribution of counterfeit drugs throughout the United States and worldwide. Ortiz Gonzalez was convicted on one count of conspiracy and...

Originally published in the August 2012 NABP Newsletter Applying for the .pharmacy generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD), supporting relevant legislation, and educating consumers, health care providers, and law enforcement, are among the many actions NABP should continue to undertake in order...

Robin Han, a New Zealand citizen, has pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the large-scale distribution of fake erectile dysfunction drugs into the United States. Han pleaded guilty to three criminal counts related to his trafficking of counterfeit drugs...

In a partnership with the White House, the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP) will launch a campaign to help educate consumers about the dangers of unsafe prescription drugs often sold by illegal online pharmacies. The CSIP campaign will include...

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) today issued a report about the continually increasing online counterfeit drug supply and the urgent need for international collaboration among regulators and other public agencies as well as private sector entities. As...

Andrew J. Strempler, a Canadian citizen, was arrested by United States officials in Florida and faces charges relating to his operation of a Web site selling drug products to US residents including distribution of counterfeit and non-Food and Drug Administration...

FDA issued a safety alert notifying consumers about the recall of Reumofan Plus, a product marketed as a natural dietary supplement for pain relief and other serious conditions. The product contains several active pharmaceutical ingredients not listed on the label...

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®), with the support of a global coalition of stakeholders, has applied to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to own and operate the new .PHARMACY generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD)....

Group of Eight (G8) leaders emphasized the importance of exchanging “information on rogue internet pharmacy sites in accordance with national law and shar[ing] best practices on combating counterfeit medical products” in order to protect public health and safety. Following their...

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) has signed the Partnership for Safe Medicines’ (PSM) letter to United States senators to show its support of PSM’s stance that the Prescription Drug User Fee Act should not be amended to...

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) today issued a report to raise awareness about how rogue Internet drugs sites are preying on consumers’ fears about drug shortages. With the most critical shortages involving cancer, antibiotic, nutrition, and electrolyte-imbalance...

Abbott is warning consumers and health care providers about counterfeit Vicodin ES® purchased via the Internet. Abbott reports that the counterfeit product drug and package do not match that of Abbott’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved Vicodin ES (hydrocodone bitartrate...

The North Dakota State Board of Pharmacy has taken action against three out-of-state pharmacies for illegally selling tramadol via Internet sites to North Dakota residents, as reported by The Jamestown Sun. The three pharmacies – located in Hawaii, Pennsylvania, and...

Incidents of counterfeit drugs containing dangerous ingredients – such as mercury, rat poison, and paint thinner – and intercepted around the world are documented in a five-part series from the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM). As reported by PSM, Hazim...

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) is offering attendees the opportunity to earn up to nine contact hours (0.9 CEUs) of Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education-accredited continuing pharmacy education (CPE) credit at its 108th Annual Meeting. The meeting...

Originally published in the April 2012 NABP Newsletter In 2011, counterfeit pharmaceuticals made up the largest portion of seized items in the Consumer Safety and Technology category, at 28% when ranked by domestic value, as reported by United States Customs...

LegitScript Investigation Finds Registrar Facilitating Fake Pharmacies’ Unlawful Activities The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) has contacted the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) urging the organization to take action against Internet.bs, a Web site registrar...

A House version of the Online Pharmacy Safety Act of 2011 (HB 4095) was introduced to the US House by Representative Bill Cassidy (R-LA) on February 28, 2012. The Hill reports that Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and John Cornyn (R-TX)...

Of 72 drugs identified in shortage by FDA as of September 2011, 68, or 94%, were offered for sale online, primarily by sites on the NABP Not Recommended list, according to a new study. To determine the potential for patient...

Association Issues Statement of Support for Online Pharmacy Safety Act of 2011 The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) has documented thousands of fake online pharmacies that endanger the lives of unsuspecting American consumers by distributing counterfeit, adulterated, and...

Originally published in the February 2012 NABP Newsletter An estimated 36 million Americans, or one in six people, have ordered prescription drugs from Internet Web sites without a prescription, according to a Partnership at Drugfree.org survey. Consistent with this finding,...

Web sites marketing certain biologic vaccines to providers and consumers were analyzed in a recent study that stressed patient safety dangers, particularly in the context of vaccine shortages. The study evaluated online sellers appearing in the top five Internet search...

Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with regulatory agencies from 81 countries, participated in this year’s International Internet Week of Action (IIWA), a cooperative effort to curb online sales and distribution of counterfeit and illegal medical products. Dubbed Operation Pangea...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Google Inc has agreed to forfeit $500 million for allowing online Canadian pharmacies to place advertisements through its AdWords program targeting consumers in the United States. The department notes further that, “from 2003...

A recent report from researchers at Carnegie Mellon University provides new information showing growth in the number of Internet drug outlets and describes some of the technology used by the operators of such sites. For example, the researchers analyzed the...

New Report Shows 85% of Fake Online Drug Outlets Don’t Require Valid Prescription, Fuel Prescription Drug Abuse NABP has issued a public health alert to warn Americans about the serious dangers associated with medicines purchased through fake online pharmacies. NABP’s...

New Report Shows 85% of Fake Online Drug Outlets Don’t Require Valid Prescription, Fuel Prescription Drug Abuse The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) today issued a public health alert to warn Americans about the serious dangers associated with...

NABP participated in a Congressional briefing coordinated by the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) and Senator Chris Coons, on June 23, 2011, to discuss the problem of rogue Internet drug outlets. Topics included the risks of drug products distributed by...

The Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) sent letters to 10 of the top Internet advertising networks, calling upon them to adopt policies specifying that sponsored advertisements from Internet pharmacies will only be accepted if the pharmacy is VIPPS® (Verified Internet...

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy is developing rules to regulate Internet pharmacies pursuant to House File 381, which called for rules to define Internet pharmacies and Internet pharmacy sites. In addition, the rules establish requirements for site registration and site...

Legislation aimed to fight rogue Web sites dedicated to the sale of infringing or counterfeit goods, including rogue Internet drug outlets, has been introduced to the US Senate. The “Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual...

A spam e-mail campaign promoting a rogue Internet drug outlet and misappropriating Google branding has been tracked by Symantec’s MessageLabs Intelligence. The MessageLabs blog describes how the scam works and provides images of the messages used in the scam. The...

NABP recently granted two additional online pharmacy services Approved e-Advertiser status. More information about the NABP e-Advertiser ApprovalCM Program and a full listing of online pharmacy services with Approved e-Advertiser status is available under Programs on the NABP Web site....

Stakeholders representing varied consumer organizations had the opportunity to present testimony to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary about the problem of counterfeit goods sold via the Internet, including information about efforts to fight rogue Internet drug outlets on February...

An indictment names 11 defendants, all citizens of the Dominican Republic, charged with crimes related to extorting money from United States citizens who had purchased drugs from rogue Internet sites. As reported in a Department of Justice news release, “the...

The list of Internet drug outlets ranked as Not Recommended by NABP grew 37% to 7,134 over the course of 2010, as reported in the Association’s January 2011 progress report for regulators. These Web sites, 96% of the total number...

FDA warns the public about a continued international extortion scam in which criminals contact victims by telephone, posing as FDA special agents in attempt to obtain money. Specifically, FDA reports that the criminals call the victims – who in most...

Originally published in the December 2010 NABP Newsletter Pharmacists across the nation continue to receive too-good-to-be-true offers from rogue Internet drug outlets attempting to entice them to fill questionable prescriptions in return for large monetary reimbursements. While most pharmacists reject...

Originally published in the December 2010 NABP Newsletter Potentially thousands of rogue Internet drug outlets will have to board up their virtual storefronts, thanks to a new partnership agreement enforcing a major domain name registrar’s ban on illegal use of...

Health Canada has warned Canadians about potentially counterfeit drugs sold on three Web sites, which are listed on the NABP Not Recommended list. The Canadian regulatory agency notes that prescription drugs for sale on sites Northdrugmart.com, Northdrugstore.com, and Pharmacyrxworld.com have...

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took part in the International Internet Week of Action (IIWA), which took place October 5-12, 2010, by warning Web sites believed to be illegally peddling unapproved drugs to US consumers, and by targeting illegal shipments...

On September 21, 2010, Google filed a federal lawsuit against one individual and 50 unnamed defendants allegedly connected with promoting rogue Internet drug outlets. Google announced on February 9, 2010, that it will only accept advertisements from Internet pharmacies in...

Hazim Gaber, of Canada, admitted to selling fake cancer drugs over the Internet at a plea hearing in May 2010, and on August 25, 2010, he was sentenced to 33 months in prison by a US District Court judge in...

Originally published in the August 2010 NABP Newsletter The Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP) is working to bring about policy changes requiring Internet search engines, domain name registrars, and other “gatekeepers” to stop enabling rogue Internet drug outlets. Its...

The Washington Times recently reported on FDA's warning against "generic Tamiflu" and the threat of counterfeit drugs in the United States. Read the article, "Popping the Internet's Poison Pills," in The Washington Times....

FDA is warning consumers that a phony version of the antiviral drug Tamiflu being sold on the Internet could spark a harmful reaction in some people. Read more in FDA's consumer updates....

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning regarding a fraudulent product, sold over the Internet and represented as “Generic Tamiflu,” that contains cloxacillin, an ingredient in the same class of antibiotics as penicillin. Patients who are allergic to...

NABP commends Microsoft and Yahoo! for implementing new policies regarding Web sites selling prescription drugs. Microsoft now requires that online pharmacies be accredited through the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice SitesCM (VIPPSCM) program to validate that those advertising on Bing.com’s United...

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agents examined packages containing illegal pharmaceuticals shipped from foreign countries at the Miami International Mail Facility in the three-day Operation Safeguard, an event intended to prevent the drugs from entering the United States. Working with...

The Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP) seeks to protect patient safety and ensure patient access to safe and legitimate online pharmacies and is led by a steering group of stakeholders including the American Pharmacists Association, Eli Lilly & Company,...

A superseding indictment charges two individuals, Carleta Carolina and Wayne White, with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and other charges as part of their involvement in a large-scale rogue Internet drug outlet operation. DEA Special Agent in Charge, John J....

Allergan’s prescription eyelash growth product, Latisse, is frequently sold without a prescription, and often over Internet Web sites that do not require prescriptions based on face-to-face physician-patient examinations, as reported in a recent New York Times article. By purchasing Latisse...

Supported with evidence from NABP members, including two state boards of pharmacy and three Canadian pharmacy regulatory agencies, LegitScript notified 16 domain name registrars that rogue Internet pharmacies were using their services. The Minnesota Board of Pharmacy and the Texas...

On February 9, Google announced that it will only accept advertisements from Internet pharmacies in the US that are accredited through the VIPPS program, and from Internet pharmacies in Canada that are accredited by the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA)....

Allegedly Retailed Counterfeit Meds The Winnipeg Free Press reports that one of Canada's Internet pharmacy pioneers has lost his credentials to practise in Manitoba after a three-year probe into allegations he sold counterfeit prescription drugs to Americans. Read the full...

HealthDay reports that people who buy prescription medications over the Internet, especially drugs purporting to treat erectile dysfunction, are playing Russian roulette with their lives, a new study contends. Read the full article in HealthDay.  ...

The US Food and Drug Administration is today warning consumers about a counterfeit and potentially harmful version of Alli 60 mg capsules (120 count refill kit). Read the FDA news release for more information.  ...

The Latin Business Chronicle reports that Mexico's counterfeiting, theft, and illegal sales of samples cost drug-makers nearly $2 billion a year. Read the full article in the Latin Business Chronicle....

The US Food and Drug Administration is warning the public about criminals posing as FDA special agents and other law enforcement personnel as part of an international extortion scam. For more information, read the FDA news release....

Published in the September 2009 Vermont Board of Pharmacy Newsletter The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to address illegal diversion of prescription drugs through the Internet. It was signed into...

Published in the August 2009 Missouri Board of Pharmacy Newsletter In 2008, the United States Congress enacted the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act, which amended the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) by adding several new provisions to prevent the...

Reprinted from the October 2008 Minnesota Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. As noted in this issue’s Disciplinary Actions, the Board recently disciplined five pharmacists and one pharmacy for involvement with Internet Web sites that offered to arrange for the sale of...

Published in the January 2008 Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter The Board has received numerous complaints regarding faxes promoting a partnership between a Web site and pharmacies to sell prescription drugs. The faxes claim to be legal and offer...

Published in the December 2007 Kansas State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter The Board office has received numerous complaints from physicians and pharmacists in Kansas concerning faxes that are being transmitted from an Internet company to business fax machines in Kansas...

Published in the November 2007 Alabama State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter The Board is aware that multiple Web site recruiters are making phone calls and sending faxes regarding electronic prescriptions, prescription faxes, and prescribing system schemes to increase prescription volumes...

Reprinted from the October 2007 North Carolina Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. Board staff reminds any pharmacy that meets the definition of “Internet pharmacy” under 21 NCAC 46.1317(17) that it will not be eligible to renew an existing permit for 2008...

Published in the September 2007 Kentucky Board of Pharmacy Newsletter The Board office has received many questions and concerns from pharmacies and pharmacists in Kentucky regarding the receipt of faxes and seeing questionable Internet pharmacy Web sites. Once the Board...

Reprinted from the July 2007 North Carolina Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. Effective April 1, 2007, pharmacies that satisfy the definition of an “Internet pharmacy” must comply with substantial new requirements to receive or renew a pharmacy permit. 21 NCAC 46.1317...

Published in the June 2007 Delaware State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter Most pharmacists are aware of Web sites that exist whereby the public can purchase prescription medications without having a patient-practitioner relationship. Many of these sites require the person to...

Reprinted from the April 2007 North Carolina Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. Previous Newsletter items have alerted independent pharmacists that illegal Internet operations are soliciting them to act as “fulfillment” centers. This continues to occur. The typical “pitch” is that an...

Published in the March 2007 Kentucky Board of Pharmacy Newsletter Recent investigations by the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation, Kentucky State Police, and Kentucky Board of Pharmacy have identified various out-of-state pharmacies contacting pharmacies in Kentucky asking them to become a...

Reprinted from the January 2007 Montana Board of Pharmacy Newsletter. It is illegal to purchase or sell prescription drugs over the Internet without a valid prescription from a prescriber. The following four elements are useful in determining the validity of...

Published in the October 2006 South Dakota State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter The South Dakota State Board of Pharmacy works closely with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and South Dakota Department of Health, Health and Medical Services Division to prevent diversion...

Published in the August 2006 Missouri Board of Pharmacy Newsletter Board staff has been fielding more questions about the legality of pharmacies acting as fulfillment centers for Internet businesses that are attempting to provide prescription drugs to consumers. Pharmacists who...