CDC warns of potential overdose risk from online pharmacy prescriptions

Key takeaways:

• The DOJ charged 18 defendants accused of running illegal pharmacies and selling unregulated drugs.
• The CDC advised that people should take prescriptions only from a licensed HCP and pharmacy.

The CDC issued a warning to health care officials, clinicians and patients about a potential risk for overdose among people ordering counterfeit prescription medications from online pharmacies.

According to a CDC press release, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges on Sept. 30 against 18 defendants running illegal online pharmacies.

The agency said that these individuals are advertising, selling, manufacturing and shipping millions of unregulated prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine to tens of thousands of people in the United States.

The DOJ noted in a separate press release that at least nine victims later died of narcotics poisoning, while nine website domains used to sell the counterfeit pills have been seized.

Prescriptions for drugs like GLP-1 receptor agonists from illegal online pharmacies have become increasingly prevalent in the last couple of years. According to a report from IQIVA, the number of prescriptions dispensed annually through illegal online pharmacies increased from 64 million in 2019 to 85 million in 2022, for a compounded yearly growth rate of 10%.

IQIVA also found that 12.6% of total adverse events related to illegal dispensing between January 2017 and December 2022 could have been avoided if all drugs purchased from illegal online pharmacies were purchased from legal pharmacies instead.

The CDC noted that almost 95% of websites offering prescription-only drugs online operate illegally and that individuals should take medications prescribed only by a licensed health care provider and dispensed by a licensed pharmacy.

The agency added that if a person or someone they know has purchased pills from an online pharmacy, they should:

• check to see if the pharmacy is U.S. state licensed;
• not take the medications if they are suspected of being counterfeit and instead dispose of them safely;
• always carry naloxone; and
• call 911 in the event of a poisoning emergency.

The CDC advised that consumers avoid online pharmacies that do not require a doctor’s prescription, are not licensed in the U.S. and by a state board of pharmacy and “offer deep discounts or prices that seem too good to be true.”

References:

• Assessing the Impact of Illegal Online Pharmacies in the U.S. Available at: https://www.iqvia.com/insights/the-iqvia-institute/reports-and-publications/reports/assessing-the-impact-of-illegal-online-pharmacies-in-the-us. Published April 25, 2023. Accessed Oct. 3, 2024.
• Potential public health risk among individuals ordering counterfeit prescription medications from online pharmacies. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/s1002-counterfit-prescription-online-pharmacies.html. Published Oct. 2, 2024. Accessed Oct. 3, 2024.
• U.S. Attorney announces charges against 18 defendants in scheme to manufacture and distribute millions of deadly counterfeit pharmaceuticals through fake online pharmacies. Available at: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/us-attorney-announces-charges-against-18-defendants-scheme-manufacture-and-distribute. Published Sept. 30, 2024. Accessed Oct. 3, 2024.