Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

DRUG

Arrests made in global drug ring raid

Three people have been arrested in Stockholm and held on suspicion of the illegal sale of prescription drugs, including diet pills and impotence treatment, as part of a international police operation.

Published: 21 November 2009 11:26 CET
Arrests made in global drug ring raid

Police in 26 countries have collaborated on the raid and a total of 22 people have been arrested in connection with the crackdown on the global network.

The three suspects currently being held by police deny any involvement. A further two people were arrested but were later released without charge.

During the raid in capital, police seized a large amount of medication with an estimated value of 1 million kronor ($144,100).

The tablets appear to be known brands such as Viagra but tests have revealed some to be placebo pills while others have small or large amounts of effective substances.

”Some contain nothing and others pills contact either a fraction of the substances or ten times more than real prescription drugs,” said Cecilia Fant, criminal inspector from the National Criminal Investigation Department (Rikskriminalpolisen).

Over 750 illegal websites around the world which sell tampered medication have been identified and 72 have been shut down.

”There has been a growth in the number of illegal online drug stores and it is difficult to identify them,” Fant added. ”But we expect to arrest more people in Sweden in connection with this type of crime.”

Police are unable to estimate how many people have been affected in Sweden by buying the medication.

The pills are largely bought from China, India and Thailand and sold on at a huge profit via the internet.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

DRUG

Danish biotech firm starts human trials for new Covid drug

The Danish biotech company Union Therapeutics has been given the go-ahead to begin clinical trials on humans for its coronavirus medicine which early studies show is more than 40 times more effective than Remdesivir.

Published: 3 July 2020 12:03 CEST
Danish biotech firm starts human trials for new Covid drug
Niclosamide is one of hundreds of promising new drugs. Sorrento Therapeutics in San Diego, California, is working on an antibody drug. Reuters/Scanpix/Bing Guan
Dr Rasmus Toft-Kehler, chief executive and co-founder of the company, credited the “amazing period” that saw the medicine rushed through preliminary trials. 
 
“The team, including all stakeholders, partners… and not least regulatory authorities, have acted with passion and in concert to advance UNI911 at an incredible pace,” he said in a press statement.
 
“We are honoured to be part of this venture and excited to be at the cusp of initiating clinical studies with the ultimate goal of making a differentiated product available for patients in need”.
 
The drug UNI911, or niclosamide, will be tested at the Zelo Phase I Unit at Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hopsital and at the Center for Physical Activity Research at Rigshospitalet. 
 
“It is a drug that can kill the virus and prevent it from dividing inside the body,” Morten Sommer, a professor at DTU Biosustain and the co-founder of Union, told TV2. 
 
“Previously, it has been used to treat bowel diseases such as tapeworms, but we have found out how the drug can come out and work elsewhere in the body.” 
 
 
In studies from South Korea, niclosamide has proven 40 times more potent than the drug Remdesivir, which has otherwise been considered the most effective drug for treating Covid-19.
 
Sommer expects the development of the drug to move into the second phase this autumn. 
 
“It is still early in the process, but we think the characteristic we have seen of the drug seem really promising, and if the results continue to come in, we hope that it has great opportunity to contribute to the treatment of both Covid-19 and also other similar diseases.” 
SHOW COMMENTS