China is getting a great deal on drugs. On Thursday authorities there released a new list of medicines that the government health system will pay for. The prices are significantly below U.S. and international norms. The list, released by China’s National Health Security Administration, includes 70 new drugs, according to a Friday morning note from SVB Leerink analyst Andrew Berens. Drugmakers with discounted products included on the list include AbbVie (ticker: ABBV), Gilead (GILD), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and AstraZeneca (AZN). https://www.barrons.com/articles/china-negotiates-bargain-drug-prices-with-big-pharma-51575035328
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5-28-19 The world’s second-largest pharmaceutical market has been turning up sales increases that continuously surpass those in the U.S. and other developed regions.
In the first quarter, emerging markets growth averaged 13.3% among the Big Pharmas followed by Wolfe Pharma analysts, including AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, Merck & Co. and GlaxoSmithKline. And in China, that number was 29%—versus 8.2% in the U.S.—a growth rate that has been ticking upward since the start of 2017, Wolfe’s Tim Anderson noted in a Thursday report.
Now that China's increasingly important to Big Pharma, investors are naturally tracking it closely—and they wonder just how long that kind of growth can last. For good reason, too; though all of those top companies see big opportunities in China https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma-asia/china-drives-growth-ahead-u-s-for-big-pharma-will-it-last..........................
8-1-19 “What we do have in Cleveland County (Oklahoma) is 135 prescription opioids for every adult,” state’s attorney Brad Beckworth told a judge. “Those didn’t get here from drug cartels. They got here from one cartel: the pharmaceutical industry cartel. And the kingpin of it all is Johnson & Johnson.”…Blinded by greed, Johnson & Johnson--and dozens of other drug manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies, and doctor--turned their eyes away from the opioid crisis swamping the country. Meanwhile the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) tracked the spread of opioids but did little to stop it….
While government entities at every level are left footing the bill to address the health and social crisis, the pharmaceutical companies attempt to shift the blame to Mexican drug lords, overzealous doctors and the victims themselves.
Over 2,000 state, city, county and tribal governments have brought a “landmark” consolidated lawsuit against some of the largest pharma manufacturers, distributors, chain pharmacies and doctors. The trial is set to begin in Cleveland in October….
Early on Florida became a massive source for the black market distribution of opioids. With little state regulation walk-in clinics taking cash-only payments exploded across the state during the late 1990s. Doctors prescribed pills without making a diagnosis. These “pill mills” drew thousands from states like West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky. Loaded up with pills the couriers returned home and sold them…. Multiple other trials and hearings have revealed similar patterns. In the suit brought against Johnson & Johnson in Oklahoma, state Attorney General Mike Hunter said, “What is truly unprecedented here is the conduct of these defendants on embarking on a cunning, cynical and deceitful scheme to create the need for opioids.”…Other unsealed documents from the Ohio trial paint a sordid picture of how corporate boardrooms concocted the opioid epidemic fueled by greed. Manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies and corrupted doctors each salivated over a piece of the $8 billion a year market….Purdue knew about the dangers of addiction from OxyContin before they began marketing the drug. They pled guilty to conducting a fraudulent marketing campaign to cover this up and paid a $635 million fine in 2007. But the gold rush was on….In 2008 the FDA tried to pressure generic manufacturers to reduce their production in response to clear evidence of an epidemic. The companies refused to stop the gravy train.
To expand sales, pharmaceutical companies bribed doctors to increase prescriptions. They did so by paying doctors for meals, speaking fees, consulting fees, honoraria. The more these doctors prescribed, the more pharmaceutical companies paid them.
According to one Harvard study “In 2014 and 2015, opioid manufacturers paid hundreds of doctors across the country six-figure sums for speaking, consulting and other services. Thousands of other doctors were paid over $25,000 during that time.”…
The DEA has charged that illicit fentanyl is being produced in China and Mexico, where a fentanyl crisis is breaking out, and brought into the U.S. through existing organized crime supply chains. In May the Chinese government agreed to ban the production of all forms of fentanyl. But 80% of the global demand for opioids comes from the U.S. Without addressing the addiction crisis fueled by the pharmaceutical corporations, fentanyl production will quickly move to another country, and the crisis will continue....
DEA tracking data shows some 76 billion opioid pills flooded the country between 2006-2012. Six large companies distributed 75% of those pills, including Walmart, CVS and Walgreens, and just three companies manufacture 88% of opioids. In their obsession for profits, pharmaceutical manufacturers deliberately ignored suspicious patterns of massive orders by pharmacies who acted like “street-level drug couriers.” Instead manufacturers put their stamp of approval on the orders. Hundreds of millions of pills found their way to the black market while overdose deaths skyrocketed. One sales agent described his job as to “ship, ship, ship.” https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/big-pharma-companies-are-the-drug-kingpins-of-the-opioid-crisis/
.............................................................................................................Officers seized “over 5,100 grams of fentanyl, four firearms including a .380 Bersa handgun, a .38 caliber Smith &Wesson revolver, a .22 caliber Ruger handgun and a 9mm Ekol ALP2 9mm handgun as well as more than $27,000.00 in U.S. Currency,” they said. The Boston Herald reported that the amount would be is enough to kill between 2.8 million and 22.8 million people. https://fox61.com/2019/11/11/enough-fentanyl-to-kill-2-million-people-seized-in-boston-drug-bust/
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1 kg of fentanyl—Gilbert Franco Garcia, 38, and Jesus Aviles-Higuera, 29, were charged Thursday with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute. https://denverite.com/2019/11/15/feds-arrest-two-denver-men-in-connection-to-kilo-of-fentanyl-found-by-local-cops/
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Authorities seized 118 pounds of fentanyl during a routine traffic stop April 26 on Interstate 80 near Kearney. Troopers became suspicious of a semi-truck driving on the shoulder lane, searched the vehicle and found drugs in a hidden compartment, according to Nebraska State Patrol Col. John Bolduc. The driver of the truck, Felipe Genao-Minaya, 46, and passenger, Nelson Nunez, 52, both of New Jersey, were arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, the agency said. The value of the drugs is estimated at more than $20 million. The 118 pounds seized during the bust could kill about 26 million people, according to estimates by the DEA. https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/25/health/
nebraska-fentanyl-bust/index.html
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WESTCHESTER, N.Y. – Eleven people have been accused of taking part in a major drug ring that sent truckloads of carfentanil – a drug 100 times more potent than fentanyl – across the country, including $2.4 million worth of drugs that were seized in West Nyack, New York.
The operation used long-haul truckers to move carfentanil, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, ketamine and tramadol throughout the United States, authorities. Among those defendants is Alexis Victorero who police said was arrested in New York while driving a tractor-trailer full of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl.
Officials said they seized 68 pounds of cocaine, 50 pounds of fentanyl, 11 pounds of carfentanil, eight pounds of heroin, various amounts of ketamine and tramadol, and six guns over the course of the investigation. It was the country's largest seizure of carfentanil, a synthetic opioid, they said. (Photo: Clarkstown Police Department) https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/11/13/carfentanil-new-york-giovanny-arias-victor-salazar-hector-maren/4181254002/
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6-5-19
“This case provides a bird’s eye view of how the Sinaloa Cartel’s operation and transportation network brings heroin, fentanyl and death to New York City doorsteps and users throughout the Northeast,” said Special Agent in Charge Donovan….
the defendants were part of two different groups that trafficked several kilograms of fentanyl and heroin monthly and sold it in bulk to distributors in the Bronx, Philadelphia, Albany and other cities in the Northeast. The drugs wound up on the streets in $10 packets.
According to the investigation, Roberto Gonzalez Franco is a Mexican national with a B-1 Visa border crossing card restricting his travel to 75 miles from the border. Gonzalez Franco crossed the border approximately 15 times from September 2018 to early February 2019 and held meetings with other defendants in the Bronx, Philadelphia and Chicago. According to the investigation, Mario Alberto Urbina Garcia, of Los Angeles, is an American who frequently traveled with Gonzalez Franco. Urbina Garcia crossed the border approximately 13 times from September 2018 to early February 2019.
According to the first indictment, on Feb. 8, 2019, 23 kilos (50 pounds) of fentanyl were seized from a hidden compartment within a vehicle in Chicago while en route to the Bronx and other locations. According to the investigation, the fentanyl was being supplied by Gonzalez Franco, Garcia and Urbina. The source of the fentanyl is believed to have been the Sinaloa Cartel.
https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2019/06/05/more-50-pounds-fentanyl-recovered-investigation-trafficking-group https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2019/06/05/more-50-pounds-fentanyl-recovered-investigation-trafficking-group
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april 15, 2019 https://www.lngworldnews.com/coast-guard-finds-200kg-of-cocaine-tied-to-teekays-lng-carrier/
Some 200 kilograms of cocaine have been found attached to the Hispania Spirit LNG carrier rudder during its stay in Port Fortin in Trinidad and Tobago.
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4-17-19 SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgarian border police have discovered and seized more than 200 kilograms (441 pounds) of cocaine in waters near the country's Black Sea coast. The office is investigating whether the drugs are of the same quality as the 195 kilograms of high-grade cocaine also picked from the sea last week.
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6-26-19 (CNN) A Brazilian Air Force officer traveling with President Jair Bolsonaro's G20 contingent was arrested late Tuesday after he was caught with 39 kilograms (roughly 86 lbs) of cocaine. https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/26/americas/brazil-officer-cocaine-g20-intl/index.html
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3-20-19 Law enforcers seized nearly 200 kg of cocaine from a vessel which had checked at the Yuzhny seaport in Odesa region. https://www.unian.info/society/10486317-about-200-kg-of-cocaine-found-in-vessel-at-yuzhny-seaport-near-odesa.html
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11-12-19 Border force officers found 200kg of coke packages wrapped in meat in the back of a truck at Harwich Port in Essex, on Monday. The truck had come from Holland and the driver, Robert Tromp from Hillegom in the Netherlands, was arrested. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-50394247
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Oct. 2018 A couple of kayakers in NSW located a 20 kg brick of coke floating in the water….Back in July a 600 kg shipment of cocaine was seized off Byron Bay when it was dumped in the ocean. The AFP believe that this solo package may have originally been apart of this shipment and drifted south on it's lonesome down to Trial Bay.https://stabmag.com/news/20kg-of-cocaine-was-found-floating-off-australias-east-coast/
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In one of the largest drug busts in U.S. history, federal
authorities in Philadelphia seized nearly 20 tons of cocaine worth about $1 billion last month from a ship owned by JP Morgan's asset management arm. The ship, named MSC Gayane, is operated by Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company, but it was financed by a transportation strategy fund run by JP Morgan's asset management arm. The ship is leased out to MSC. JP Morgan declined to comment. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2019/07/11/us-authorities-seize-20-tons-of-cocaine-from-ship-owned-by-jp-morgan/#4c2d358a2ea3
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9-13-19 Vardges Markosyan admitted to trafficking about 40 kilograms of coke. The cocaine was sent via commercial carrier to Australia https://ktla.com/2019/09/13/north-hollywood-man-admits-to-smuggling-more-than-80-pounds-of-cocaine-hidden-in-household-items/
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The U.S. Coast Guard captured a 40-foot-long submarine carrying 12,000 pounds of cocaine worth more than $165 million in the Pacific Ocean as it made its way to the United States earlier this month, authorities said. Enrique Mantilla-Olaya, Fausto Hurtado-Candelo, Wiber Tenorio-Rodriguez and Fernando Tribino-MIna — are being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa.
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8-2-19 (CNN) German authorities say they have seized nearly 5 tons of cocaine worth over $1 billion, the largest cocaine seizure in the country's history. Authorities made the haul in Hamburg https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/02/world/german-cocaine-haul-record-trnd/index.html
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SAN DIEGO -- More than 13 tons of cocaine seized in international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean from late June to mid-July were offloaded in San Diego Friday by the Coast Guard. The drugs, worth an estimated $350 million, were seized from six suspected smuggling vessels and two floating cocaine bales found off the coasts of Mexico, Central America and South America by the Coast Guard cutters Robert Ward and Steadfast https://fox5sandiego.com/2019/07/26/coast-guard-offloads-millions-of-dollars-of-cocaine/
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10-8-19 50 tons heroin/cocaine—In a series of dawn raids yesterday, 13 men aged from 24 to 59 were arrested in London, Manchester, Stockport, St Helens, Bolton, Warrington, Dewsbury and Leeds. Four men and two women held in the Netherlands in April are awaiting extradition to the UK. All are suspected of being part of the UK arm of an organised crime group that used Dutch and British front firms to import the drugs from Holland. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10095555/50-tons-heroin-cocaine-kids-juice/
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7-11-19 The production boom is centered in Colombia, where cultivation of the coca plant rose 17% to 171,000 hectares in 2017….In February of this year, Cape Verde officials found 21,000 pounds of cocaine, with a street value north of $700 million, on a Panamanian-flagged vessel. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/cocaine-ship-jpmorgan-boat-liberian-flag-1-billion-drugs-surprising-2019-7-1028346364#the-sheer-quantity-of-cocaine1
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The U.S. Coast Guard has seized nearly 35,000 pounds (15,000 kilograms) of cocaine from apparent drug smuggling vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The drugs were off-loaded Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Cmdr. Michael Sharp told reporters the drugs were found over the last three months aboard fishing vessels and go-fast boats outfitted to conceal contraband and evade authorities. https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2019/02/05/coast-guard-seizes-35000-pounds-of-cocaine-in-pacific/
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