Four online networks, operating a total of 10 websites, have come under the radar of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), who have jointly issued warning letters to each network stating an immediate stop to illegal selling of opioids to American consumers.
The Acting FDA Commissioner stated, “as the FDA works to forcefully tackle the opioid crisis on all fronts, we cannot allow rogue online pharmacies to continue to fuel the crisis by illegally offering opioids for sale and circumventing the important safeguards that have been put in place for opioids to help protect the public health.’’
According to the FDA, these networks posed an opportunity for patients to buy prescription medications from illegal online pharmacies thereby putting their health at risk as the products may be counterfeit, contaminated, or expired. The letter accused the networks of illegally marketing “unapproved and misbranded” versions of opioid medicines, including tramadol, which violates the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The warning further exposed the risk of credit card fraud, identity theft, and computer viruses.
Each of the companies has a period of 15 working days to respond, stating the specific actions to be taken by them to address the violations noted in the warning letters, failing which they may be subject to legal enforcement action.
The joint action by the FDA and DEA strengthens the federal government’s commitment to enhance interagency coordination to respond to the opioid crisis. Additionally, U.S. prosecutors in Texas have charged fifty-eight people for being involved in healthcare fraud schemes concerning the illegal distribution of more than 6 million opioid pills.
