Potentially deadly haul of fake impotence drugs seized in Scunthorpe

Yesterday the The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) confirmed that over 320,000 doses of unlicensed erectile dysfunction medicines have been seized by their enforcement officers.

The huge quantity of potentially fatal unlicensed impotence drugs came about following raids at addresses across Scunthorpe yesterday, carried out by MHRA officers.

The illegal and possibly highly dangerous haul of unlicensed drugs have a reported estimated street value of over £990,000.

Alastair Jeffrey, MHRA Head of Enforcement, commented: “Selling unlicensed medicines is illegal and poses a serious health hazard.

“Unlicensed medicines can be dangerous as they may contain impurities, incorrect ingredients, and there is no way of knowing if they are manufactured to acceptable standards of quality and safety.
“Criminals involved in the illegal supply of medical products aren’t interested in your health – they are only interested in your money.

“Be careful buying medicines online – only buy from a site that is registered with MHRA and displays the new EU common logo.

“MHRA will continue to track down and prosecute those who put the public’s health at risk.”
Here at Medical Specialists® Pharmacy, we only supply genuine branded medication such as Pfizer Viagra. Moreover, our pharmacy will only dispense medication after a patient has undergone a consultation with one of our fully registered doctors, who will make sure the medication is both right and safe for the patient – or if a private prescription is posted in, issued by another GP. In addition to that, we are fully registered with the National Pharmacy Association and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

With thousands of illegal fake online pharmacy websites still plaguing the internet, offering ‘discounted’ medicines with ridiculous (and illegal) deals on prescription drugs – i.e. ‘buy one get one free’ – it can be difficult to know who to trust or where to buy from.

On a daily basis Medical Specialists® speak to concerned patients. With this in mind, here are some warnings signs and red flags when trying to determine if an online pharmacy is legitimate and who they say they are:

. No requirement of a doctors’ consultation for prescription medication.

. Long delivery times, sometimes up to several weeks. This is due to the drug being imported from a foreign country before it gets to you.

. The price of the medication is a lot cheaper than what would be expected, sometimes by as much as 70%.

. The website does not list any contact details, e.g. a telephone and fax number, email address, company address or details of its pharmacists, doctors, etc.

. The company registration and VAT number should both be clearly stated on the website. Both of these are a legal requirement.

. A registered Pharmacy such as Medical Specialists® Pharmacy will display a clearly visible and clickable GPhC green cross logo on their website, together with its pharmacy number. This number can be checked on the GPhC pharmacy register to see if the pharmacy exists, as follows:

. As an extra level of security, reassurance and peace of mind for the consumer, from 2015, legimate pharmacies had to display the EU common logo on every page of the website where selling to a patient occurs. This helps members of the public to identify websites that can legally sell medicines. Like the GPhC logo, the EU common logo is clickable, but the hyperlink will direct people to the that pharmacy’s listing on the MHRA’s list of registered online pharmacies and should state that the pharmacy has been approved by the MHRA, as follows:

‘Female Viagra’ Addyi (Flibanserin) hits the American market

American women rejoiced on Saturday 17^th October after the commonly touted ‘female Viagra’ finally launched in the United States.

Addyi (known generically as Flibanserin) finally received the required approval from the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) on 18 August, albeit reluctantly, with the little pink pill previously facing two rejections on account of concerns about just how effective it was and any potential side effects – especially when alcohol is consumed.

The FDA have strongly warned that women should never drink alcohol while taking Addyi as the risk of fainting is high. This also poses a higher risk for drivers.

However, women that have lost their sexual desire can now go to their doctor and ask for Addyi (it is available on prescription only), and should find that they will be quizzed about their current method of birth control, prescribed medications, relationship with their partner, as well as if they have previously suffered from depression or other mental health problems.

The National Institute of Health claim that around 40% of women in America suffer from female sexual dysfunction, but Addyi is targeted at the estimated 10% of premenopausal women – around 16 million American women – who suffer from hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). HSDD is characterised as a constant lack of sexual thoughts and interest in sexual activity, resulting in a state of distress and cannot be explained by another medical condition or substance, such as anxiety or relationship issues.

Addyi becomes the first pill-based treatment of any type of low sexual desire, and many women will be unaware it has launched. Moreover, American women will not be inundated with advertisements on television, radio, print or digital advertising for at least 18 months.

The drug’s manufacturer’s – Sprout Pharmaceuticals - has agreed to forgo all paid advertising for more than a year to slightly ease the FDA’s worries about Addyi’s safety.

The promise to FDA will not prevent Sprout from promoting Addyi via various other popular mediums, with Sprout’s eagerness to engage with women through social media, in addition to holding interviews with media outlets and other influential organisations, demonstrating a new way forward for pharmaceutical marketing strategy.

“I think what they’re doing is pretty clever, actually,” Dan Leinweber, president at a boutique PR firm called Leinweber Associates, said. “This is a much less costly way to get their word out in a much more credible way.”

Widely popular erectile dysfunction treatment Viagra also happened to be a completely new treatment within a new class of sexual medicine upon its introduction to the world back in 1998. In the subsequent 17 years, ‘the little blue pill’ Viagra has easily become one of the most heavily advertised drugs in the world, bringing in massive amounts of profit for its maker Pfizer. An incredible $232 million was spent on advertising Viagra by Pfizer in 2014, and Viagra brought in a record $2 billion in revenue in 2012.

Thus far, it remains to be seen if Sprout will begin to look at the UK and other European countries for a release of Addyi, with no word yet on their future plans for the drug. Before any drug is sold in Britain though, it has to receive a license from the European Medicines Agency. Keep checking the Medical Specialists® Pharmacy website for further updates.

Erectile Dysfunction prescriptions soar 25% in a year

Just a week ago Medical Specialists® Pharmacy dramatically lowered the prices on ALL erectile dysfunction treatments, such as Viagra, generic sildenafil, Cialis, etc., and the response in the subsequent seven days has shocked even those at Medical Specialists®.

With this huge price crash, thousands of male patients from all over the UK suffering with impotence – and indeed other countries around the globe – have been using the online consultation service to submit orders for various erectile dysfunction treatments. To give an example of the price drop, 4 x Viagra 100mg tablets were previously priced at £55.95 (Inc. delivery to mainland UK), but are now priced at just £34.95.

Perhaps many have suffered in silence for too long and finally decided to seek help from Medical Specialists®, or were simply deterred by the cost of the medications, either way it seems our staggering cost reduction to patients has resulted in a soar in requests for erectile dysfunction treatments.

It is not just at Medical Specialists® though where requests for male impotence medications are coming in thick and fast, with new figures showing that prescriptions for erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra soaring by over 25% within a year in the UK, as costs reduced by 85.9% with the availability of generic versions from 2013.

According to statistics from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), last year there was found to be 1.7 million prescriptions dispensed for sildenafil (often sold as the branded Viagra), but is also obtainable under other trade names.  The HSCIC report analyses prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists, dispensing doctors and in GP practices.

In comparison, there were 1.4 million prescriptions of sildenafil dispensed during 2013, and just one million back in 2004. For purely sildenafil alone, it was found that prescriptions increased by 21% during the previous year.

However, drugs for other conditions have seen a large increase in prescriptions too, with HSCIC figures showing that antidepressants, which includes medications for depressive illness, generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder, and panic attacks, increased by 7.2%, with 57.1 million dispensed last year, compared to 53.3 million in 2013. That means the number of dispensed prescriptions for antidepressants has almost doubled from the 29 million dispensed in 2004.

Other HSCIC stats show that in excess of 1.06 billion drugs were prescribed across England in 2014, a rise of 3.3% on the number prescribed during 2013 and an incredible rise of 55.2% on 2004.
Another finding was that the overall net ingredient cost of prescriptions in 2014 stood at £8.85 billion, representing a 2.6% rise of 2013 and 9.6% increase over the previous 10 years.

For the eighth successive year, the most amount of money went on diabetes drugs, with a 7% increase – rising by £55.3 million from 2013 to 2014, to reach £849.1 million.

Popular cholesterol drug Atorvastatin, a treatment that helps to cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes, was discovered to have the biggest rise in the number of items dispensed, with a four million rise since 2013.

ED drug Cialis to be used in Dementia trials

British pensioners will be given erectile dysfunction drug Cialis for the world’s first clinical trial of its kind to see if the drug can be used in the fight against dementia.

Tadalafil – Cialis’ active ingredient – belongs to the same class of medications (PDE5 inhibitors) as Pfizer’s Viagra, and works by dilating blood vessels in the penis so blood can flow there more easily.
Because of its benefits to blood flow, scientists were curious if tadalafil could help to avert the development of a common form of dementia (vascular dementia) by again increasing blood flow, but this time to the brain.

The Alzheimer’s Society and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) in New York are jointly funding the £328,000 cross-Atlantic research partnership.

Scientists led by Dr Atticus Hainsworth at St George’s, University of London, will assess 50 people aged over 65 in the UK that have experienced mild symptoms of dementia – such as memory loss – or have shown signs of blood vessel damage, following a stroke.

Dr Hainsworth commented: “My colleagues and I are very enthusiastic about this trans-Atlantic initiative as there are too few drugs in the medicine cupboard for dementia. We want to know whether a well-known, well-tolerated drug can be used to combat dementia, which has been called the twenty first century plague. The drug Tadalafil is widely used to increase blood flow in penile tissue. Now we’re asking whether it can do the same for another vital organ – the brain.”

Vascular dementia is the second most common type of dementia and an estimated 110,000 cases of dementia in the UK are this form of the disease. It is usually caused due to damage of the small blood vessels of the brain, leading to less blood being transported to the brain tissue as the artery walls are too thick and stiff.

This type of damage is also referred to as ‘small vessel disease’ and is evident in around 50-70% of older people because the damage usually develops and worsens over many years.

However, the researchers involved in the new clinical trials are optimistic that tadalafil’s blood-flow boosting properties will hopefully be able to stop the damage that causes vascular dementia.

The researchers will monitor the participants’ blood flow to the brain prior to and following a dose of tadalafil, using a special type of MRI called arterial spin labelling.

This involves the use of radiowaves to magnetise water within the blood and then monitor it as it travels to the brain, which will help the researchers to see the amount of blood that is getting to different areas of brain tissue.

The low dose of tadalafil will occasionally be switched for a placebo so the scientists can contrast the blood flow with and without tadalafil.

Patients already with dementia will be unable to be involved in the trials as those pioneering the research say they want to see if tadalafil may be able to actually prevent the onset of the disease.

Dr Doug Brown, Director of Research and Development at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Drug development can take decades and sadly, the path towards developing dementia treatments over the past decade is littered with drugs that have failed in clinical trials. As we learn more about the causes of dementia and its links to other conditions, there is hope that treatments we routinely use for other diseases may also work for people with dementia.

“These incredibly exciting studies could see existing treatments turned into drugs for the most common forms of dementia in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of developing new drugs from scratch. By next year 850,000 people in the UK will have dementia and we owe it to them to do everything we can to develop better treatments and ultimately find a cure. Research like this is a huge part of that goal.”

Viagra found to offer boost for heart disease patients

More commonly known for its prowess in the bedroom, male impotence drug Viagra should also be routinely prescribed as a safe treatment for heart disease according to the researchers involved in a new study.

A team of scientists from Sapienza University in Rome, Italy, analysed 24 studies comprising of 1,622 men, and published the findings in the journal BMC Medicine.

The found that sildenafil – the active ingredient in Viagra – boosted the performance of the heart in patients with various heart conditions, whilst having no detrimental impact on blood pressure.

Sildenafil is known as a Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor (PDE5i), which works to block the enzyme PDE5, was found to prevent the heart enlarging and changing shape in those patients with ventricular hypertrophy. This condition causes thickening of muscles in the left ventricle and can lead to heart failure.
Lead researcher of the study, Andrea Isidori, now wants the drug to be used in clinical trials consisting of women that have heart disease, arguing that Viagra should be prescribed for heart conditions if more trials correlate with his findings.

He said: “We found that the main ingredient in Viagra can be used as an effective, safe treatment for several patients with heart disease. Large clinical trials are now urgently needed to build on these encouraging findings.”

Maureen Talbot, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Often in medicine, drugs which are used to treat one ailment can have side effects that make it an effective treatment for other conditions.

“Viagra is already a prime example of this. But this study suggests it has the potential to be put to another use – treating early stage heart failure and cardiac hypertrophy.

“But we shouldn’t get too excited too quickly. Large randomised controlled trials are needed on both men and women to support this study’s findings before it could be recommended to heart patients.”
Sildenafil is already marketed under the name Revatio for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension, and the benefits of Viagra for heart disease patients should perhaps not come as a huge surprise.

Sildenafil was originally developed as an option for the treatment hypertension and angina pectoris, and the ability to induce erections was noted later. Because of the latter finding, Viagra’s manufacturer Pfizer subsequently decided to market Viagra for treating erectile dysfunction instead of angina. The rest as they say, is history!

Medical Specialists™ Pharmacy fight the counterfeiters with giveaway Erectile Dysfunction prices!

There’s no two ways about it: counterfeit drugs can kill. They are dangerous. They are poorly produced in disgusting warehouses by crooks with no pharmaceutical knowledge and no regards for your wellbeing.

Pfizer’s erectile dysfunction medication Viagra is amongst the most copied medicines in the world, but counterfeits of the ‘little blue pill’ have been found to contain some shocking ingredients lurking inside.

Fake Viagra pills are usually sent to Pfizer’s laboratory for analysis, and their experts have previously found a wide range of deadly chemicals such as blue printer ink, brick dust, floor wax and even rat poison. Maybe the most shocking of all was one infamous batch of pills being flogged in South Korea, partly made from the remains of human foetuses. Perhaps this will make people think twice before buying cheap knock-off erectile dysfunction drugs from illegal websites.

Taking the fight to the counterfeiters and their illegal websites, Medical Specialists™ Pharmacy are delighted to announce we now offer generic sildenafil (the active ingredient in Viagra) for the staggering cheap price of just £1.35* a tablet! So cheap it is practically a giveaway and therefore there is no reason to look elsewhere and buy cheap dangerous pills from untrusted sources purely for their inexpensive price.

With the current dire financial climate and many people out of work, it is completely understandable that many of us wish to save money where we can, but this saved money can’t be taken to the grave with you after you have ingested counterfeit drugs and suffered a fatal reaction.

“I can buy Viagra cheap from my mate down the pub” or “Yes I’ve taken Viagra, I got Kamagra from my mate” are two things Medical Specialists™ often hear from men seeking our help with their impotence problems. Mates down the pub are not doctors, pharmacists, or will enquire about your medical history or what other medications you may be taking.

For instance, Nitrates (taken for angina) can actually react with Viagra and cause a sudden drop in blood pressure, leading to a heart attack. And for the record, bear in mind that Kamagra is not Viagra and is not licensed in the UK. Therefore it is illegal to buy it or be in possession of it.

In-house GMC-registered doctors are available at Medical Specialists™ to carefully review your consultation and suitability for not just ED treatments, but indeed any prescription-only medication. Your health and wellbeing are put first, unlike that mate down the pub who just wants to make a few quid regardless of if you might suffer with heart or brain damage.

The popular Bury-based pharmacy caters for thousands of patients all across the globe, and as such, does not want to see all these unsuspecting men parting with their cash for cheap, dangerous Viagra knock-offs because their budget will just not allow for the ‘genuine’ article – Pfizer’s Viagra or other genuine UK-made sildenafil-based medicines.

In fact when the UK patient expired last year for Viagra, Medical Specialists™ Pharmacy introduced other erectile dysfunction medications that contained sildenafil – for only fraction of the cost! This resulted in a surge in demand for these inexpensive medications that contained sildenafil.

Men suffering from impotence probably thought things couldn’t get any better for their wallet…think again!

There are actually currently 27 UK manufacturers licensed to manufacture sildenafil, including the more well-known Teva sildenafil and Actavis sildenafil, and patients with Medical Specialists™ can now benefit from further slashed prices of generic sildenafil! Yes, all patients old and new can obtain generic sildenafil at rock bottom prices, if they don’t mind which particular manufacturer they receive, but all are UK-produced and contain the exact same active ingredient.

At just £1.35* per tablet of generic sildenafil, this is without doubt a lot cheaper than both buying from your mates and attempting to smuggle counterfeits into the country and if caught, being hit with thousands of pounds in fines and even a prison sentence.

Viagra-like cream in development – with none of the side effects!

Men suffering with erectile dysfunction are spoilt for choice currently, with Pfizer’s Viagra and Eli Lilly’s Cialis as just two options out there to treat impotence.

Unfortunately there are a few patients who complain about the side effects associated with such phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor medications, usually an end-product of the enzyme that helps to stimulate blood flow throughout the body and directly to the penis.

Side effects from the most popular of the ED drugs – Viagra – can include nausea, headache, a dry mouth, facial flushing, blurred vision and indigestion.  In addition, the drug is not suitable for men with angina or have recently suffered with a heart attack or stroke.

It must be stressed though that not every man who takes Viagra actually experiences these side effects and some can happily take it for years without ever having even a mildly unpleasant side effect.

But for those that are bothered by the slight bothersome aftereffects of Viagra, you may be delighted to learn that a topical cream could be released in the future to treat erectile dysfunction.
U.S. biotechnology firm Strategic Science and Technologies are developing the new cream which contains the same active ingredient as Viagra; sildenafil citrate.

The cream, which is intended to be an over-the-counter product and will thus will not require a prescription, has been tentatively given the name SST-6006. The creators say it is applied directly to the entire penis, where it then passed through the skin and into penis tissue, before being absorbed into the blood.

The Phase 1 trial was designed to test the “safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of SST-6006” and involved 60 healthy men who were asked to apply the topical formulation of sildenafil. Though it was successfully absorbed into the bloodstream, it was found that with the topical cream there was an estimated 20-times reduction in the amount of the drug in the patient’s bloodstream compared to a Viagra pill taken orally and as a result, less side effects.

“With a growing concern about systemic side effects associated with the current oral forms of PDE-5 inhibitors, a topical treatment approach such as SST-6006 could enable patients with erectile dysfunction to benefit from a local therapeutic dose of sildenafil directly into the penile tissue while reducing the risk of unwanted systemic side effects,” commented Dr Irwin Goldstein, Director of Sexual Medicine at Alvarado Hospital and Director of San Diego Sexual Medicine.

“This is a novel delivery technology to positively impact sexual health in both men and women.”
The researchers have admitted though that tests conducted so far have yet to definitely confirm if the cream actually boosts sexual function. The main discovery so far has been the fact the cream successfully transfers into penile tissue when applied directly to the skin and is safe to use.

Medical Specialists™ now offer exciting ‘second generation’ impotence treatment Spedra

Since the release of Pfizer’s Viagra way back in 1998, men across the globe suffering from the common condition known as erectile dysfunction (ED) have been spoilt for choice with regards to treatment options.

Sildenafil citrate – marketed as Viagra – was subsequently joined by Levitra (vardenafil) and Cialis (tadalafil), followed by variations such as the Cialis Daily tablets and Levitra ODT (Orodispersible). And now the ED market finally welcomes an exciting new addition to its vast array of treatments, in the form of Spedra (avanafil).

Spedra is available today from Medical Specialiasts™ Pharmacy, priced from as little as £23.17 for 4 x 50mg tablets. No prescription? No worry…Our in-house Doctors will write a prescription for you, which is then dispensed by our in-house Pharmacists, and sent to you within 24 hours.

Menarini, a private company headquartered in Florence, are manufacturers of Spedra and are touting the new treatment as the very first ‘second-generation’ medication for ED. This is due to the fact patients within the clinical trials did not report back to have experienced some of the side effects associated with the other PDE-5 inhibitors, i.e. blurred vision or slight hearing loss.

Spedra has been shown to have an impressive success rate of 77% and is rapidly becoming well known for being the quickest acting male impotence treatment there is. Those being prescribed it for the first time may find they start on 100mg, but there are also 50mg and 200mg doses of the drug. The maximum recommended dosing frequency is once per day. Like the other ED treatments, Spedra’s full effect is felt with prior sexual stimulation (foreplay) – just like you would engage in any way if you were not taking a medication for ED.

Taken orally, Spedra belongs in the same family of medicines as Viagra, Levitra and Cialis. Just like the existing ED drugs, Spedra belongs to a class of medicines known as PDE-5 (Phosphodiesterase type 5) inhibitors and is suitable for men who have trouble getting or sustaining an erection for sexual intercourse.

Whereas the existing treatments can take anywhere between 25 minutes to an hour to take effect, clinical trials have demonstrated the impressive prowess of Spedra, which kicks-in with firm erections after just 15 minutes, according to many of the men participating in trials. The new treatment will shave vital minutes off compared to its counterparts, ideal for more ‘spur of the moment’ love making.

Spedra has been shown to remain effective for between four and five hours, a time duration similar to that of Viagra. It should be noted that this does not mean you will have an erection for between four and five hours, but that you will have ability to achieve improved erections that duration. Like other ED treatments, Spedra may take longer to become effective if taken following a large meal.

The dangers of fake medicines: Let’s work together and counter the counterfeits

A common line that Medical Specialists™ Pharmacy hears is “I can get Viagra for a lot cheaper from my mate at the pub” from men who suffering with erectile dysfunction and are coming to us because we are a fully-registered online pharmacy and a trusted source.

However, Steve down the pub flogging what appear to be ‘Viagra’ tablets, for a fraction of the cost of genuine Pfizer Viagra, is not a trusted source. He is more than likely neither a qualified doctor nor pharmacist, will not ask you about your medical history, for a recent blood pressure reading, or if you take medications for other health problems. For instance, men taking nitrate-based drugs such as Nitroglycerin for heart problems should not take Viagra as the two drugs can cause a sudden drop in blood pressure.

Simply put, this friendly chap you meet in the toilets to buy your impotence pills does not care for your well-being but is looking to make easy money off you. It might seem appealing to save a few pounds to buy from Steve instead of a reputable and established pharmacy like Medical Specialists™, but do you really know what you are even buying?

To counter this, Medical Specialists™ now actually offer Sildenafil Teva and Sildenafil Actavis, two erectile dysfunction medications that contain the same active ingredient as the more expensive Pfizer Viagra, but for substantially less in price. Why purchase an unknown product from an unreliable means when you can spend a similar amount for the aforementioned Sildenafil brands and can rest assured you are receiving UK-manufactured medicines, with your consultation questions assessed our GMC-registered doctors who actually do care about your health. Prices for Sildenafil Teva from Medical Specialists™ works out from as little as £2.69 (based on pack of 4 x 25mg tablets on private prescription).

Ingredients in cheap Viagra-like tablets are likely to be of poor quality, expired, or many not even contain any Sildenafil Citrate whatsoever (Viagra’s active ingredient).  This can result in very little, if any at all, improvement in your erections or potentially deadly consequences from taking the cheaper knock-off. On the other end of the scale, tablets with unregulated higher doses are highly dangerous. Super-potent drugs with more than a safe level of Sildenafil Citrate could result in a heart attack.
You may also be shocked and disgusted to learn about some of the ingredients that have previously been found in confiscated counterfeit Viagra include:

. Antifreeze.
. Blue printer ink.
. Cyanide (sometimes used in rat poison).
. Drywall and plaster.
. Dye to replicate genuine Viagra’s texture and colour.
. Speed or amphetamine.

If all that isn’t enough to raise eyebrows, it’s how these drugs are made which is equally shocking. Steve in the pub may have seemingly real-looking blue ‘Viagra’ pills, but he will not tell you about the processes to produce them, and probably doesn’t know himself. Within the dirty, grotty warehouses where these pills are made, there lies the danger of potential toxicity from heavy metals and other unknown ingredients, not the risk of bacterial and fungal infection from the pills being produced in unhygienic conditions.

Dublin man fined €22,000 for selling fake Viagra in his shop

A Dublin man faces a huge €22,000 fine (roughly £18,216) after submitting a guilty plea to stocking a counterfeit version of prescription-only erectile dysfunction medication Viagra, in addition to a variety other medicines at his bargains shop.

The 55-year-old from Woodstown Park, Knocklyon, pleaded guilty to 11 offences in breach of the Irish Medicines Board Act, after investigators discovered the products at his business, Breathnach’s Bargains, at St Dominic’s Shopping Centre, Tallaght.

The Dublin native was prosecuted after two separate inspections at the premises by an officer from the Irish Medicines Board (IMB), who swooped on the shop on September 28th, 2011 and again on April 11th, 2012.

Brenda Kirby, an enforcement officer with the IMB, informed Judge John O’Neill at Dublin District Court that she visited the shop and spoke to the man’s 26-year-old son after receiving a tip-off from customs officers.

Ms Kirby subsequently spotted a “large number of unauthorised medicinal products”. The 26-year-old male promptly spoke to his father on the telephone and he informed Ms Kirby the shop would promptly stop selling the products.

As many of the patients of Medical Specialists™ Pharmacy are fully aware, Ms Kirby stressed that the Viagra brand is produced only by the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, and anything bearing this name that is not produced by Pfizer, is counterfeit. After Pfizer received a sample of a product seized at the shop, they unsurprisingly confirmed both the drug and its labelling was fake.

A whole host of medications are sent to Pfizer thousands of times per week by authorities and it only takes a few days to find out how genuine they are. Fake drugs can comprise of numerous disgusting and lethal ingredients such as brick dust, chalk, paint and pesticides.

Then on April 11, 2012, Ms Kirby went back to the shop and again found medicinal products on sale. The 55-year-old owner admitted to possessing Kamagra tablets – which are not licensed for sale in Ireland or the United Kingdom -  and counterfeit Viagra tablets.

He also confessed to selling other prescription items, these being Max Strength Decongestant Tablets and Vicks Sinex Decongestant Capsules.  Calpol in 100ml and 140ml bottles, Diarrhoea Relief Capsules and Beechams All in One Tablets were also being sold at the premises.

Judge O’Neill convicted the man and handed down fines totalling €22,000 to be paid within four months or a 21 day prison sentence will be enforced. His son pleaded guilty to three charges relating to keeping Max Strength Decongestant Tablets and Vicks Sinex Decongestant Capsules in stock for supply. He must donate €1,000 (roughly £826) to charity by May 27 to receive the benefit of the Probation Act, otherwise he will be convicted and fined a larger amount.

‘Viagra for women’ on the horizon…and it could even help you lose weight!

Viagra for women has been a topic of great debate ever since Pfizer Viagra first became available way back in 1998, approved for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

However, that could be a reality by the end of next year as scientists conduct trials on a new wonder drug that almost sounds like it is too good to believe. Not only will be the tablet provide a boost to the woman’s sex drive, but it will apparently also help to curb their appetite and lose weight.

ORLIBID, the British company involved in developing the drug, are optimistic they will be successful in having ‘ORL101’ on shelves by the end of 2015.

An estimated four in ten women complain at some point that their sex life is larking the spark it once had and drug companies have toiled for a number of years to create a female equivalent of the hugely popular but still male-only Viagra – Pfizer’s sixth-biggest medicine, with annual sales of about $2 billion (£1.22 billion).

A strong psychological factor linked to a woman’s libido makes it difficult for pharmaceutical companies to create something effective and beneficial.

Dr Mike Wyllie, part of the team behind the development of Viagra, is of the opinion that ORLIBID could hold the key to unlocking the problem of a woman’s sex drive, and possibly succeed where others have not.

Increasing the brain to desire, ORL101 is a synthetic version of melatonin, which those with a penchant for tanning may have heard of.

Many experts have already been aware of melatonin’s ability to boost sex drive, but the task of getting it into a pill, as opposed to an injection, has proved a complex task.
The cost of ORL101 is anyone’s guess but it is assumed the drug will be comparable to Viagra’s price when it initially launched; up to £12 a tablet.

The tablet will only need to be taken 15 minutes prior to sex, providing a boost to the woman’s libido for up to an impressive 2 hours. This conclusion has been derived from studies conducted on jabs with comparable formulas, which led to better sex and a decreased appetite too.

Dr Wyllie is offering his services to ORLIBID on an advisory basis, free of charge, and will not profit from sales. He says: “It will be for everyone from those where female sexual dysfunction is destroying their relationships to those just wanting to spice up their sex life.”

Dr John Dean, a former president of the International Society for Sexual Medicine, said a drug could be ideal when no medical or psychological cause for sexual problems is found.

He added: “Low sexual desire is by no means a trivial problem. It affects lives, relationships, productivity and satisfaction.”

Pharmacist caught selling fake Viagra and Cialis

It seems a week cannot pass by without somebody being arrested or sentenced due to their illegal activity dealing with counterfeit medication. However, the guilty party this time is perhaps a surprising one.

According to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s office, a pharmacist operating in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., has been arrested and accused of illegally purchasing counterfeit Viagra and Cialis from China and subsequently dispensing the fake pills at his pharmacy to unsuspecting men.

Viagra and Cialis, together with Levitra, are three hugely popular medications to treat erectile dysfunction (also known as male impotence). Unfortunately for those who are duped into buying them, counterfeits such as the ones being offloaded by this particular pharmacist, have been previously known to contain either little or too much as the medication’s active ingredient which can prove lethal if somebody has any underlying health problems.

Moreover, Counterfeit drugs are often produced in disgusting, unsanitary warehouses too and some counterfeits have previously contained anything from blue paint (perhaps to mimic Pfizer Viagra’s blue colour), to brick dust, or even rat poison!

The pharmacist in question is 36-year-old Michael Markiewicz, owner of Chicago’s ‘Belmont Pharmacy’.  Despite the fact the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation suspended Markiewicz’ pharmacist license and withdrew Belmont Pharmacy’s license in November 2012, federal prosecutors have stated it is still operating as a nutrition and herb retailer.

Preceding the revoking of his pharmacist license, Markiewicz obtained three separate shipments of fake Viagra tablets from the most notorious country in the world for counterfeit drug activity; China, via the internet. One of these particular deliveries also included counterfeit Cialis. Investigators determined that he was offering the fake drugs in his pharmacy from December 2010 through to August 2012. Shipments contained a ‘gift pen’, according to the customs declaration, with the drugs concealed in unmarked clear plastic bags under the pen.

The federal indictment announced yesterday said that Markiewicz, of Norridge, Cook County, Illinois has been charged with eight counts of violating the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, four counts of trafficking in counterfeit drugs or goods using a counterfeit mark and three counts of smuggling in a 15-count indictment returned on Wednesday by a federal grand jury.

Although it is unclear at this time exactly how severe Markiewicz’ punishment will be, in the U.S. here are some punishments associated with counterfeit medicines: Trafficking counterfeit drugs carries maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a $2 million (about £1.3 million) fine, trafficking counterfeit goods using a counterfeit mark can carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a $2 million fine, smuggling carries a maximum of 20 years and a $250,000 (about £163,000) fine and finally violating the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act carries a maximum of three years and a $250,000 fine.

We can assure you of peace and mind when obtaining medicines from Medical Specialists Pharmacy. Patient health and welfare has always been at the core of our business practice. Established in 1994 and becoming the UK’s first legal online clinic in 2001, we are fully registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and also a member of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA). Our team of Doctors are registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and our Pharmacists are registered with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB).

However, we also understand that the internet is plagued with illegal so-called ‘pharmacies’ that offer ‘discounted’ medication. They are cheap for a reason – they are not the genuine article! To help you distinguish the illegal websites from those genuine ones belonging to fully-registered pharmacies such as Medical Specialists, here are some key points to be aware of:

. Long delivery times of up to several weeks. This is due to the drug being imported from a foreign country before it arrives to you.
. The price of the medication is a lot cheaper than what you could expect, sometimes by as much as 70%.
. The website does not offer any contact details, e.g. a telephone and fax number, company address, pharmacists, doctors, etc.
. A registered Pharmacy such as Medical Specialists Pharmacy will have the GPhC green cross logo together with its Pharmacy number. This number can be checked to see if it does actually exist.
. The company registration and VAT number should both be clearly stated on the website. Both of these are a legal requirement.
. If the website does not require patients to submit a detailed medical history or answer a doctor’s consultation, this is suspicious.

$3.6 million of counterfeit drugs seized in the U.S.

Earlier this year Medical Specialists Pharmacy gave you an insight into just some of the work that the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer have been undertaking in their bid to stamp-out the manufacturing and distribution of counterfeit drugs, or at least keep it to an absolute minimum if possible.

Pfizer are of course most notorious for the massively popular erectile dysfunction medication Viagra (sildenafil), and indeed erectile dysfunction (ED) treatments are the most counterfeited medicines in the world. Counterfeiters are becoming more adept at developing more realistic appearing medicines. However, for the patients who are unfortunately getting duped, the low-price comes with a life-threatening risk as the drugs are often processed in unsanitary conditions and usually contain toxic ingredients that can prove deadly.

There is some positive news though which shows that these illegal counterfeiters will eventually receive their comeuppance – Partnering with governments and law enforcement agencies around the globe, Pfizer’s Global Security has successfully managed to halt an incredible 160 million counterfeit tablets from reaching unsuspecting patients around the world in the last decade.

This brings us to the fantastic news this week that US enforcement agents joined forces with Pfizer, seized a haul of counterfeit medicines from a warehouse in South Carolina, U.S., in March. The fake drugs were estimated to be worth a staggering $3.6 million (£2.3 million).

Unsurprisingly, it was fake ED drugs that were uncovered during the raid and agents discovered counterfeited versions of Viagra in addition to Eli Lilly’s Cialis (tadalafil) – another popular male impotence medication that has rivalled Viagra in recent years. The agents also found Merck & Co’s Proscar (finasteride), a drug that eases the symptoms associated with an enlarged prostate.

It is believed the counterfeit drugs had been imported from India, arriving at reshipping warehouse located in Columbia, whilst other counterfeits came from a country rife in such illegal activities – China.

The huge operation that led to the South Carolina raid involved agents with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and South Carolina’s Secretary of State Office, using their expertise with work with Pfizer and Blazer Investigations staff.
In total, $4 million-worth (£2.6 million) of counterfeit goods was seized, and not only medicines. ICE has confirmed that fake versions of products from Coach, Prada, Ray Ban, Golf Pride and TaylorMade, were also found.

South Carolina Secretary of State Mark Hammond said: “Counterfeit merchandise is a lose-lose situation, harming those retailers who play by the rules and cheating consumers out of the quality products they need or deserve. Fake medicine takes this harm to another level because it can literally kill you.”

Pfizer’s fight against the illegal fake drug industry

We will begin by stating the obvious: counterfeit drugs are dangerous. You know that, Medical Specialists know that, and we are one of many organisations around the globe who are dedicated in bringing the fight to counterfeiters and see justice prevail. Unfortunately the dangers these people are creating for the customers who buy them does not seem to have much moral impact on them, and many illegal websites still exist today despite the recent closure of 18,000 of such websites.

One popular drug for imitations and poorly-made copies since its launch in 1998 is the Erectile Dysfunction medication Viagra. Manufactured by Pfizer – the maker of smoking cessation drug Champix and countless other medications, it has become a prime target for forgery due to its profitability.

In 2011 (just in the U.S.) it managed to hit $1.04 billion in sales after Pfizer’s incredible marketing outlay of $85 million in the same year. Counterfeiters recognise the stigma that still exists with the subject of male impotence, and some men are still embarrassed about the subject. The fake websites are easy to spot with no listed contact details and where doctor’s consultations are usually not required, but there are men who do not look for these easy-to-spot signs and just want the no-hassle purchase of the supposed inexpensive ‘Viagra’ tablets.

It was also in 2011 when an undercover agent for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security decided to order discounted ‘Viagra’ on hardtofindrx.com. Fast delivery was assured, however it then took a fortnight for 67 blue, diamond-shaped pills to arrive supplied with a return address of ‘B. Green, High Point, N.C.’. Their authenticity was tested by forwarding the package on to director of Pfizer’s global security team Brian Donnelly, whose team begin by photographing a package’s exterior. After this, they thoroughly analyse things such as markings on the blister packs to the colour of the casings and then dissect the pills to test the chemistry of the powder within.

Counterfeit Pfizer medications are sent to Pfizer several times a week by police and usually it only requires a few days to find out how genuine they are. Fake drugs can contain a whole range of disgusting and lethal ingredients such as brick dust, chalk, paint, pesticides and Pfizer Senior Scientist Amy Callanan even recalls one bogus batch of 17,000 ‘stamina booster’ capsules from a haul in South Korea actually contained the remains of human foetuses.

After scrutinising the 67 ED pills, Donnelly’s team realised that the alias name ‘B. Green’ was one they had encountered in previous investigations into counterfeit dealings and Pfizer had received fake drugs from this name on many occasions. After lab tests confirmed the pills were indeed fake, a detailed report was sent to the FBI from Pfizer and Federal agents asked postal service investigators to check for any surveillance footage they might have that shows a ‘B. Green’ caught in the act of mailing any packages.

After investigations USPS officials managed to identify who they believed to be the suspect: a white male, about six feet tall, parking a red Ford F-150 pickup truck outside a post office in the small town of Trinity, N.C.  ‘B. Green’ was just one of many individuals known as a ‘drop shipper’ – recruited by foreign distributors to receive bulk deliveries from overseas and prepare individual orders to be dispatched to the unknowing public. The advantage of this method is that the customer will receive a delivery showing a more ‘reassuring’ U.S. return address and if customs investigates a package at the border, the resulting notification letter will be sent to the drop shipper and not the customer.

The drop shipper in this instance – aka B. Green – was identified to be an individual by the name of Shane Lance, a 41-year old from North Carolina who eventually pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic and one of trafficking. In November of 2011 he received a 10 month prison sentence and a $5,100 fine owed to Pfizer.

Lance’s relatively small prison sentence and fine was perhaps surprising but was explained by Brian Donnelly: “If he were a crack dealer, for the same type of operation he’d be looking at a five-year minimum”, indicating that the legislation involved with drug counterfeiting need to be severely addressed with a much tougher punishment.

Scientists say Viagra could help to tackle obesity

Erectile dysfunction (ED) medications such as Viagra and Cialis are obviously known for their potency in helping men to achieve and maintain an erection that is satisfactory for sex. It must worth bearing in mind however that Viagra was initially developed at Pfizer’s Kent research facility many years ago as a treatment therapy for hypertension (high blood pressure) and angina pectoris (a symptom of ischaemic heart disease). It was only following clinical trials it was discovered that Viagra had significant effects of erections, and ironically rather ineffective for angina treatment like first anticipated.

With this in mind, scientists over the years have long wondered if sildenafil citrate (Viagra’s active ingredient) could work at treating any other health conditions, and studies are regularly carried out to determine what other uses it may have.

In 2012 TV gardener David Domoney claimed that simply crushing a 50mg tablet up and placing just a fraction of this into the water, could dramatically increase the life of flowers. Whereas others are adamant that Viagra’s positive impact on blood flow may be taken advantage of for athletes, with evidence to suggest that Viagra can boost performance levels in certain sports.

The latest clinical study into the wonders of Viagra has now unearthed the possibility that its active ingredient may be utilised in the obesity epidemic that is particularly problematic here in the UK and the U.S. too.

Researchers from the University of Bonn and the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Germany were the ones who made the discovery, and now their findings may open up possibilities for the 500 million people around the globe who are classified as either overweight or obese.

Currently, many such people are turning to weight loss aids such as Alli, Xenical, and XLS-Medical, and the German study suggests that their predicament may have been prevented through sildenafil.
Like so many others do, the researchers used mice for study purposes and administered the ED medication to the mice for seven days and monitored the effect (if any) of their fat cells. Amazingly, it was found that the rodents appeared to be resistant to obesity even when fed a diet high in fat.

Sildenafil works by interfering with a signalling chain of the messenger cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), which allows the inflow of blood and an erection. Alexander Pfeifer, professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Bonn, who led the study, commented why Viagra was chosen in the study, saying: “We have been researching the effect of cGMP on fat cells for quite some time now. This is why sildenafil was a potentially interesting candidate for us.”

Ana Kilic, Pfeifer’s colleague, spoke on their findings after the seven day period, saying: “The effects were quite amazing. Sildenafil increased the conversion of white fat cells, which are found in human ‘problem areas’, into beige ones in the animals. Beige fat cells burn the energy from ingested food and convert it to heat.” As these beige cells also ‘melt the fat’, researchers are now optimistic that Viagra could be used as a powerful weapon against obesity.

If white fat cells are continually getting ‘stuffed’ or experience a build-up of lipids, they become enlarged and can synthesize and release hormones which then results in inflammation and a higher risk of  developing chronic diseases.

These inflammatory responses then accelerate cardiovascular diseases. Heart attacks, strokes, cancer and diabetes are then likely following this. However, Pfeifer continued:  “It seems that sildenafil prevented the fat cells in these mice from getting onto that slippery slope.”

Police seize almost $2 million worth of fake Viagra and cigarettes in the U.S.

With governments all across the globe looking to severely punish counterfeiters in both monetary terms and prison time, we at Medical Specialists Pharmacy cannot understand why some people still risk it. However it seems the prospect of a bankrupt-inducing fine or decades spent locked up in prison is remarkably not putting everybody off.

It has emerged that authorities in the U.S.  last week seized over  $1.8 million worth of counterfeit cigarettes and Viagra pills following the execution of search warrants in the cities of Rosemead, Montebello, South El Monte and East Los Angeles.

The names of the perpetrators have yet to be released by police but it is known that a 42-year-old female  and 37-year-old male were arrested at the 9400 block of Ralph Street in Rosemead. Investigators discovered roughly $110,000 in cash at this address.

The arrests were made after police initially swooped onto storage units in East Los Angeles and South El Monte, finding 30,000 cartons of counterfeit cigarettes and more than 4,000 counterfeit Viagra pills, all believed to have a cumulative value of around $100,000.

Photographs have been made available by the sheriff’s department that clearly show small blue pills wrapped in paper that are supposed to resemble Viagra. It is still unclear what ingredients comprise these tablets comprise of but it is very unlikely to be sildenafil citrate (the active ingredient in genuine Pfizer-made Viagra tablets).  It could be anything from brick dust, to blue paint, or even boric acid.

Sheriff Det. Kevin Olive, who was involved in the case, said the investigation had been in motion for a year before and is still on-going. The two suspects now may face federal charges if investigators decide that the goods were imported into American with ‘intent to defraud the government’.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said in a statement, “Counterfeiting and piracy impacts public safety by funding organized crime, street gangs, and even terrorism through the sales of these counterfeit products. Criminals engaged in counterfeiting products cost society billions of dollars in lost government revenues, foreign investments and local business profits.”

At Medical Specialists Pharmacy, we only supply genuine branded medication to our patients, prescribed by our professional team of GMC registered doctors, and dispensed by our Royal Pharmaceutical Society registered pharmacist.  Genuine Pfizer-manufactured Viagra is obtainable with or without a prescription, or we have other treatments for erectile dysfunction such as Cialis or Levitra.