Reducing Preventable Harm Triggered by Pharmaceutical Spam

University Of Alabama At Birmingham, Birmingham AL

Investigators

Abstract

Data from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Spam Data Mine show that more than 50% of all spam email consists of advertisements for online pharmacies and that the majority of these pharmacies will sell prescription drugs without a prescription. Some will even cross the line, selling illegal drugs to consumers. While this in itself is reason to be concerned, there may be far reaching consequences to internet sales of pharmaceuticals. First, the consumer may be receiving counterfeit drugs that contain little to none of the active ingredient or may even contain toxic adulterants. Second, the online pharmacies feed on the fears of the consumer. Internet pharmacies responded to the 2009 swine flu pandemic by spamming consumers with offers for Tamiflu. Flooding the market with flu medicine may lead to drug resistant viruses and create a more serious threat to the U. S. population. Shutting down the source of the spam is not the solution. In November 2008, the shutdown of the McColo network resulted in a subsequent 60% global reduction in the volume of internet spam. However, within six months, the void created by the shutdown of McColo was not only filled, but exceeded. The PharmSpam project is focused on reducing preventable harm caused by pharmaceutical spam. The objectives of the PharmSpam project are to determine the feasibility of achieving a long term reduction in pharmaceutical spam by breaking the supply chain at the source of the drugs instead of the source of the spam. The second objective is to quantify the outcomes of purchases from online pharmacies promoted by spam campaigns. The one year goals are to: 1. Identify the prominent pharmaceutical spam 'families'and the most commonly advertised drugs (target drugs) which will then be purchased on a monthly basis; 2. Perform physical and chemical analyses of the drugs to determine the hazards associated purchasing drugs from each of the 'families'and if the 'family'has a regular supplier or is opportunistic, contracting with the current low bidder; 3. Map the results of both legitimate and counterfeit sources in order to determine the feasibility of eliminating pharmaceutical spam at the supply source; 4. Disseminate the results to the appropriate federal agencies using existing collaborations and publish results in peer-reviewed journals; 5. Disseminate the results to the public through appropriate advocacy groups.