US FDA Warns on Fake Mexican Drugs Threat

The US FDA has issued a stark warning that Mexican counterfeiters are targeting pharmacies close to the US border, threatening the treatment of vulnerable US visitors. The regulator and the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy have identified two counterfeit versions of leading drugs that contain no active ingredient. In addition to fake Lipitor and Viagra, concerns have focused on a counterfeit of Eli Lilly's osteoporosis treatment Evista, which was marketed as a "generic."

Notably, the giveaway for the counterfeit Lipitor and Viagra -- purchased in Aguas Prietas -- appears to have been that labelling was in English, while genuine local products are almost exclusively labelled in Spanish. Although Mexico is progressively tightening its laws against copying and counterfeiting of pharmaceuticals, Mexican industry group AMIIF recently estimated that in addition to the health risks, copying alone is costing the country's drug sector an estimated US$700mn per year. This total is equivalent to roughly 8% of the country's overall annual drug spending.