Bitter Pills: The Global War on Counterfeit Drugs

The explosion of Internet commerce, coupled with globalization and increased pharmaceutical use, has led to an unprecedented vulnerability in the U.S. drug supply. Today, an estimated 80% of our drugs are manufactured overseas, mostly in India and China. Every link along this supply chain offers an opportunity for counterfeiters, and increasingly, they are breaking in. In 2008, fake doses of the blood thinner Heparin killed 81 people worldwide. In 2012, a counterfeit version of the cancer d...