Fake versions of Botox have started to pop up throughout the USA, according to the FDA released on April 24, 2013.
The FDA stated on an alert on their website that the packaging used for Botox that they’ve found are fake, as well as the vial inside.
“FDA cannot confirm that the manufacture, quality, storage, and handling of these products follow U.S. standards,” the FDA stated in their report.
They also stated that this is part of a larger investigation:
“What began as one OCI investigation of a Florida medical clinic escalated into 210 investigations of health care professionals throughout the United States. As of July 2008, the work of OCI has led to 31 arrests and 29 convictions of individuals who purposely injected an unapproved, cheaper substitute toxin for FDA-approved Botox Cosmetic into nearly 1,000 unknowing patients.”
The FDA stated that the chemical claimed to be Botox could be counterfeit, improperly transported, not stored at the correct temperatures, and even unsafe.
Allergen released to the public that in addition to violating federal and local laws, these products that are being imported to the US may be compromised and agreed, could very well be unsafe.
Real Botox is only produced by the manufacturer Allegran and has very specific regulatory standards, according to the company.
The FDA stated that there are a number of websites on the market such as “OnlineBotox.com,” and this website is fax-spamming doctors offering to undercut market prices by selling them “Botox” which is unlawful, and unethical.
It doesn’t just harm the company either, the FDA stated that in one year 4 people were actually hospitalized due to being injected with unapproved botulinum which one doctor tried selling as Botox. This caused a widespread investigation with a number of clinic (mainly in Florida) and stated that almost 400 clinics may have unknowingly used Botox.
The US government has renewed its drug trafficking laws, and have now required all drugs to be traced from its originator. Right now drugs are only tracked using lot numbers, but this new bill would actually track each bottle.
What Can You Do?
If you are concerned that a clinic is using fake Botox, contact law enforcement or the FDA immediately. You can do this on the FDA.gov website.
You can also ask your doctor to see the packaging that it comes in. All packaging should have the Allegran logo and only come from Allegran (not shady online pharmacies)