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Falsified / stolen pharmaceutical products circulate in Germany!

German authorities are investigating currently the incidence of falsified / stolen Biopharmaceutical products originating from Italy. According to a BKA spokesperson six products are under scrutiny – Avastin, Mabthera, Herceptin, Remicade, Alimta and Humatrope.

End of April EMA already warned about falsified Herceptin circulating on the german market. Obviously the Herceptin was stolen from italian hospitals and were sold via a UK wholesaler to german PI companies. The concerned batches were recalled from the german market.

Rumor has it that 2 truckloads were stolen from Roche in Italy during transportation last December. Why the concerned batches were not recalled instantly is not known yet. There is a high risk that due to improper transporation temperature the quality of these goods may have been negatively impacted before they may have reentered to supply chain.

On May 29th the warehouse of the pharma-forwarder “trans-o-flex” in Neuss was burgled. The thieves took 53 pharmaceuticals of Eurim Pharm, Johnson & Johnson, McNeil, MSD SHARP & DOHME, Bayer Vital, Janssen Cilag, CC Pharma and others.

The list of stolen articles becomes longer day by day. Actuals List per 12.6.2014 of stolen products and batches can be found here (German only) – click on the red text and a PDF should open – batches are listed page 3 ff.

The German “Arzneimittelkommission” advises to check the incoming goods since May 29th of the affected batches and deeply check them for any hints of manipulation.