FDA Warns of Web Sites Selling Bogus Drugs

Consumer, beware! Buying prescription medications online may save money -- but the Food and Drug Administration released a warning early this month cautioning that "24 apparently related Web sites" may be distributing counterfeit prescription drugs.

Marv Shepherd, director of the pharmacoeconomics center at the University of Texas at Austin, said there may be thousands of Web sites selling counterfeit medications, many located outside the United States, where regulation is typically less strict. "The problem is, you can't tell the good guys from the bad guys" when buying drugs online, Shepherd said.

Three consumers recently purchased counterfeit Xenical (used for weight loss) on two sites -- Brandpills.com and Pillspharm.com, according to the FDA. None of the medications contained orlistat, the active ingredient in Xenical, and one contained sibutramine, the active ingredient in Meridia, another weight-loss drug, the FDA reports.

Substituting one ingredient for another creates a potentially dangerous situation. The "drug interactions profile is different between Xenical and sibutramine, as is the dosing frequency," the FDA reports.

The two Web sites involved are associated with Pharmacycall365.com -- which listed the two sites, as well as 22 others, under its "Our Websites" heading. (To see a list of the 24 sites, go to http://www.fda.gov and search for "pharmacy365.")

The FDA offers the following tips for determining whether an online retailer is safe:

· Stick with U.S.-based sites.

· Buy only from licensed pharmacies. To see whether a pharmacy is licensed in your state, check with the state board of pharmacy. (Find state boards of pharmacy at http://www.nabp.net/indexroster.asp.)

· Ensure the site requires a prescription.