Millions Vulnerable to Counterfeit Drugs

June 10, 2006 — -- Rick Roberts knows first-hand about counterfeit drugs.

Roberts, an AIDS patient, questioned his pharmacist after injecting himself with a drug that was supposed to help him keep weight on. Almost immediately, he felt painful stinging. He soon found out that the medication was counterfeit.

"For me, the most present problem was not knowing and having nightmares about what was in the vials that I injected," Roberts said.

The nearly identical-looking counterfeit was a fertility drug. Luckily, it was discovered before doing any harm.

Counterfeiters often copy drugs that are expensive or popular. That has included Viagra and the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor. The Food and Drug Administration estimates that 1 percent of prescription drugs may be counterfeit.

"They're looking for the best profits -- either very expensive biotechnology drugs, injectable drugs, or big volume sellers like Lipitor, which is the number-one selling drug in America," said Katherine Eban, an investigative journalist and author of the book "Dangerous Doses: How Counterfeiters are Contaminating America's Drug Supply." "Generally, those are the targets of counterfeiters."

Eban said if they are careful, patients can often spot imposters on their own. In fact, that is how most counterfeit medications are detected.

"When you're taking pills, put them in the palm of your hand and look at them in the light," she said. "See if they look different. Notice packaging differences and notice strange side effects. Is anything different? If you're taking injectible medicine, do you feel a stinging upon injection? A rash at the injection site? That way, if you see something that is unusual, you can talk to your pharmacist.

If people suspect that they are taking fake medicine, Eban said they should first visit their pharmacist, who often gets alerts from drug makers about whether counterfeits exist on the market. She added that most drug manufacturers have 1-800 numbers for customer complaints.