MO BOOK 13- RC 124. The Wrong Way to Stop Fake Drugs Flashcards
counterfeit /ˈkaʊntərˌfɪt/
IN 2007-8, when counterfeit versions of heparin, a blood-thinning drug, were shipped from China to the United States market, 149 people died.
heparin /ˈhɛpərɪn/
IN 2007-8, when counterfeit versions of heparin, a blood-thinning drug, were shipped from China to the United States market, 149 people died.
bogus /ˈboʊɡəs/
In the last few months, bogus versions of the cancer drug Avastin, apparently shipped from the Middle East, have surfaced in clinics in California, Illinois and Texas.
surface /ˈsɜrfəs/
In the last few months, bogus versions of the cancer drug Avastin, apparently shipped from the Middle East, have surfaced in clinics in California, Illinois and Texas.
go unreported
Numerous incidents surely go unreported, the evidence swallowed, the deaths incorrectly attributed to natural causes.
incorrectly /ˌɪnkəˈrekli/
Numerous incidents surely go unreported, the evidence swallowed, the deaths incorrectly attributed to natural causes.
attribute to /əˈtrɪˌbjut/
Numerous incidents surely go unreported, the evidence swallowed, the deaths incorrectly attributed to natural causes.
menace /ˈmenəs/
Fighting the fake-drug menace is like playing whack-a-mole.
whack-a-mole
Fighting the fake-drug menace is like playing whack-a-mole.
no sooner… than /ˈsunər/
And yet no sooner does the F.D.A. shut down one dubious online pharmacy than another pops up.
dubious /ˈdubiəs/
And yet no sooner does the F.D.A. shut down one dubious online pharmacy than another pops up.
pop up /pɑp/
And yet no sooner does the F.D.A. shut down one dubious online pharmacy than another pops up.
comply /kəmˈplaɪ/
According to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, only 3 percent of the 9,600 online pharmacies it has reviewed complied with industry standards.
based /beɪs/
Many were based overseas, so their sales to Americans were illegal; others did not require doctors’ prescriptions.
outlaw /ˈaʊtˌlɔ/
And yet, the answer is not to outlaw this business entirely.
uninsured /ˌʌnɪnˈʃʊrd/
For the millions of Americans who are uninsured or underinsured, buying from international, credentialed online pharmacies could provide access to the medicines they need at a price they can afford.
underinsured /ˌʌndərɪnˈʃʊrd/
For the millions of Americans who are uninsured or underinsured, buying from international, credentialed online pharmacies could provide access to the medicines they need at a price they can afford.
credentialed /krəˈdenʃld/
For the millions of Americans who are uninsured or underinsured, buying from international, credentialed online pharmacies could provide access to the medicines they need at a price they can afford.
substantial /səbˈstænʃ(ə)l/
The online market for drugs is already substantial, with probably more than a million Americans regularly participating.
legality /liˈɡæləti/
But it is growing slowly because of concern about drug safety and, of course, legality.
grant /ɡrænt/
While the F.D.A. does not prosecute individual consumers whose purchases present no threat to themselves or the public and grants some waivers to those buying less than three months’ supply of a drug from abroad, most are still technically considered criminals.
waiver /ˈweɪvər/
While the F.D.A. does not prosecute individual consumers whose purchases present no threat to themselves or the public and grants some waivers to those buying less than three months’ supply of a drug from abroad, most are still technically considered criminals.
procure /prəˈkjʊr/
In a recent National Bureau of Economic Research paper, I assessed the quality and price of drugs procured through Internet pharmacies.
in all or all told /ɔl/
As expected, I found several foreign sites that sold fake drugs. But of the international Web pharmacies certified by the Canadian International Pharmacy Association or PharmacyChecker.com — 23 in all, with 211 drugs sampled — all passed quality-control tests.
Russian roulette
Careless buyers play Russian roulette, but those who look for credentialed sites can purchase safe drugs at a significant discount.
play Russian roulette with something
Careless buyers play Russian roulette, but those who look for credentialed sites can purchase safe drugs at a significant discount.
co-pay
Buying drugs online from overseas isn’t for everyone. It should remain a limited option for desperate cash buyers — sick people with limited resources and insurance coverage — not a way for well-insured patients to reduce their co-pay.
reimburse /ˌriɪmˈbɜrs/
American health insurance companies should not be required to reimburse consumers for these drugs, because that would effectively import foreign governments’ price controls into the United States and undermine American companies’ research and development budgets.
slip through
And no doubt some bad drugs will slip through, which will probably stop the F.D.A. from backing the idea.
leak into /lik/
But as the problems with heparin and Avastin show, fake drugs leak into the United States already.
set foot in/on /fʊt/
The Internet is not the problem; the problem is that United States law cannot reach many of the criminals who perpetrate the frauds because most never set foot in America. We can do something about that.
transit /ˈtrænsɪt/
These criminal networks flourish across Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Turkey and the Caribbean act as major transit points, and countries like Panama launder the billions in profit.
