Counterfeit drug cases have been on the rise. In 2004, FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI) initiated 58 counterfeit drug cases, a significant increase from the 30 cases initiated in 2003, according to the May 18, 2005 update to the FDA's 2004 FDA issued a Report entitled "Combating Counterfeit Drugs: A Report of the Food and Drug Administration" (located at www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/counterfeit/).
The release of Dangerous Doses has already been cited as a call to action for law enforcement officials, legislators, and industry participants, as The Wall Street Journal cited on May 6 the book as an impetus for Cardinal Health to close a pharmaceutical trading division that buys drugs from secondary wholesalers.
"Dangerous Doses certainly raises some very important questions regarding the safety of our nation's drug supply," said Keith Kirkpatrick, TRAX's Event Director. "It is an honor to have Ms. Eban discuss these important issues which affect not only the pharmaceutical industry, but the safety of the American public at large."
TRAX also will gather hundreds of pharmaceutical executives, key decision makers, and business process owners together to hear case studies, identify various tools and technologies, and identify and evaluate strategies for securing the pharmaceutical supply chain and maximizing its efficiency. Some of the featured case studies and speakers include:
-- Viliam Kovac, Head of Quality Management, Global Logistics, Roche Diagnostics GmbH, will discuss best practices for compliance with US and European standards for compliant distribution, storage, and warehousing.
-- Ken Thomas, Head of MSSC Capabilities at Eli Lilly, will present a case study on integrating supply chain management practices and establishing a culture of disciplined business process operation.
-- Tan Miller, Senior Director of Logistics at Pfizer, will discuss the benefits of implementing hierarchical distribution and supply chain planning approaches.
-- Gilda Petersen, Director, Supply Chain Management at Abgenix, will explain how to maximize commitment and productivity by increasing the visibility of the supply chain.
TRAX will offer the unique opportunity to understand and evaluate solutions for securing and maximizing the efficiency of the supply chain through case studies, interactive workshops, and panel discussions.
About Katherine Eban
Katherine Eban, an investigative medical reporter and Rhodes Scholar, has worked for the New York Times, New York, the New York Observer, and ABC News. Her articles have also appeared in the Nation, Playboy, the New Yorker, Self, Vogue, Glamour, and the New Republic. Her first book, Dangerous Doses: How Counterfeiters are Contaminating America's Drug Supply, published by Harcourt this May, has been selected by Barnes & Noble as a "Discover Great New Writers" pick for Fall 2005. An excerpt of the book appeared in the May issue of Vanity Fair. The book-in-progress received two grants: one from the Fund for Investigative Journalism and the other from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's program for Public Understanding of Science and Technology. Eban's work has been featured on 60 Minutes, 20/20 and other national news programs. Previously, she wrote under the bylines Katherine Eban Finkelstein and Katherine E. Finkelstein. Eban lives in Brooklyn with her husband Ken Levenson, an architect, and their Newfoundland dog Lola.