A newly discovered counterfeit drug distributor that peddled a phony version of the cancer drug Avastin has officials worried that the counterfeit medicine trade is growing in the U.S.
The Avastin knockoff, which reportedly came from an overseas supplier called Quality Specialty products and was distributed in the U.S. by Montana Healthcare Solutions, does not contain the active ingredient in the real Roche drug, bevacizumab.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that the drug had been distributed to at least 19 oncology practices, including 16 sites in California, two in Texas and one in Chicago.
Connie Jung, an associate director of the FDA’s office of drug security, said it is possible that more doctors and clinics received the counterfeit, Reuters reports.
"Clinics need to know who they're buying their medicines from, they need to make sure they're buying them from legitimate sources, licensed sources in the United States," Jung said, as quoted by Reuters.
The FDA said it had not received any reports of cancer patients who were harmed by the counterfeit.
According to the Associated Press, the multibillion-dollar drug-counterfeiting trade has more of a presence in developing regions like Asia and Latin America. World Health Organization figures show that nearly 30 percent of drugs sold in such places are phony.
