Counterfeiting hits the OTC diet drug market with fake versions of Alli

Reports this week that there were counterfeit versions of the over-the-counter weight loss drug known as Alli were compounded by the news that the fake versions were contaminated with another weight loss drug known as subutramine. Subutramine is the active ingredient in Abbott's weight-loss prescription drug known as Meridia. The counterfeit Alli contained twice the normal amount of subutramine in Meridia and could have caused considerable adverse effects in some individuals, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The drug apparently can interact with other drugs to cause adverse effects and needs to be closely monitored. GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Alli, ran some preliminary tests on the counterfeit Alli and found it did not contain any of the GSK active ingredient, orlistat, but instead contained the dangerous levels of subutramine. It's amazing how sophisticated counterfeiting has become, because Alli comes in a distinctive larger package than most drugs and one would have thought it would be harder to reproduce the packaging, but in this modern age of electronic magic, everything is fair game. Fortunately, the counterfeiters failed to put a fake lot number and expiration date on the box and those are the clues that the packages are counterfeit. This is a case where a drug we would not expect to become life-threatening is counterfeited into a substance that threatens many unsuspecting individuals. So far it is believed that the counterfeit Alli has been sold only over the Internet and has not made its way to drug stores or other retail outlets.