Counterfeit Drugs

In May 2002, thousands of vials of Procrit (epoetin) labeled as containing 40,000 units were found to contain only 2000 units, and later that year, other vials of Procrit were found to contain nothing but Miami tap water. In the spring of 2003, there were reports that some Lipitor (atorvastatin) pills tasted bitter, caused a burning sensation on the tongue, and were too large. In February 2004, several Web sites sold unsuspecting consumers contraceptive patches, under the Ortho Evra brand name, that contained no active ingredient. These incidents were determined to involve counterfeit drugs, resulted in the recall of thousands . . .