Weeks after Gilead Sciences raised concern over counterfeit HIV drugs, Johnson & Johnson has taken similar action against the distribution of counterfeit prescription drugs.
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Weeks after Gilead Sciences raised concern over counterfeit HIV drugs, Johnson & Johnson has taken similar action against the distribution of counterfeit prescription drugs.
In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, life sciences giant J&J said it learned of the counterfeiting from patients who received the wrong medication in their prescriptions that had been filled by ProPharma Distribution LLC, which the company named in the legal action.
According to reporting by Reuters, J&J also learned how broad the counterfeiting concern was through Gilead’s own legal efforts. HIV drugs that were being counterfeited include Symtuza, a multi-drug combination treatment, as well as Prezcobix, Prezista and Edurant. The lawsuit also claims the counterfeiters are infringing on federal trademarks, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In its lawsuit, J&J noted that some patients discovered their HIV medication was mislabeled. In one case, a patient received a bottle labeled for the HIV medication but instead received AstraZeneca’s Seroquel, a powerful antipsychotic medication. Counterfeiters have been accused of selling expired HIV drugs as well.
The use of the term “counterfeit” is broad in the filing. It can refer to genuine HIV medications that have been sold with false documentation or altered packaging – sometimes acquired directly from patients themselves. The counterfeit term can also refer to different medications swapped out in place of the HIV medications, such as the use of Seroquel.
In addition to ProPharma, J&J also named Safe Chain Solutions LLC, Scripts Wholesale Inc. and pharmacy operator I Care Pharmacy 14 in its legal filing. J&J said I Care Pharmacy operated a brick-and-mortar store in New York City, which had been shut down following the discovery of a counterfeit sale. In addition to halting the counterfeit sales, J&J is also seeking $25 million in damages from each of the named defendants, Reuters said. The same legal firm that Gilead used in its own lawsuits is handling the J&J filings.
The J&J lawsuit echoes some of the concerns Gilead brought to light earlier this year. In January, the company announced that agents from state and federal law enforcement agencies conducted raids at multiple locations across eight states. Those raids yielded “thousands of bottles of Gilead-labeled medication with counterfeit supply chain documentation.” Among the items seized were bottles labeled with HIV drugs such as Biktarvy and Descovy, the company said.
In its announcement, Gilead pointed to evidence gathered by the law enforcement officials that showed the counterfeiters sold 85,247 bottles of purported Gilead drug products to pharmacies over a two-year period. The perpetrators used counterfeit supply chain documentation to conceal the origin. Gilead said some of the medications sold originated from nefarious groups who purchased Gilead HIV drugs from HIV patients or those with false diagnoses of HIV after the medication was dispensed to them by a pharmacy.
WSJ reported that the U.S. Department of Justice is conducting a criminal investigation into allegations of drug counterfeiting operations.
