More Breaks in the Supply Chain

If I read the recent theft news correctly, stealing pharmaceuticals and medical devices isn’t netting much these days, yet people keep trying.

Last week the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington charged two men with Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Engage in Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property and six counts of Wire Fraud, all involving the theft of diabetic supplies, including insulin, from a pharmacy in Everett, WA.  The indictment outlines a number of payments in excess of $2000 from Donald Alan Pepin to Michael Ralph Worley for various shipments of insulin beginning in June 2005.

According to the indictment, Worley worked as a pharmacy technician at Providence Medical Center’s Pacific Campus Pharmacy in Everett. While working at the pharmacy,  Worley allegedly stole both insulin and diabetic test strips and sold them on Ebay. “After those initial sales, Worley was contacted via email by Pepin, who wanted to directly purchase insulin and test strips. Pepin even sent Worley lists of the insulin products he wanted and the price he was willing to pay. The prices were just a fraction of the wholesale cost of the items. Over the course of the conspiracy, Worley is alleged to have stolen $366,054 worth of insulin from Providence Hospital. The retail value of that insulin was more than $1.2 million,” according to the indictment.

And yet, the indictment only mentions payments amounting to $2000. There could be, of course, the other sales over the Internet. It was all profit for these men, but their work shows that theft and diversion are not always sophisticated, money-racking enterprises. Sadly, they could just be the work of trusted professionals looking for opportunities to scam the system.

The indictment also reports that Pepin sold the reportedly stolen insulin through his business, First Medical Resources Inc. to smaller pharmacies. Apparently the insulin was not refrigerated during shipping or storing.

I fear that such crimes may continue to increase. FDA just reported that cases of infant formula from Mead Johnson Nutrition were stolen from a truck in Jeffersonville, OH, on November 13. Thankfully, Mead Johnson infant formula products are packaged in tamper-evident cans, so I hope sharp-eyed parents will recognize suspect products.

While Worley and Pepin’s crimes began years ago, could the weakened economy continue to support such crime? Small businesses like pharmacies have been suffering for some time, so could they be looking for deals just to stay afloat, never intending to put their customers at risk? And could patients themselves be looking for deals over the Internet?

What will work better: consumer/patient/pharmacy education, or electronic pedigrees of serialized items? Or do we need to attack the issue from both sides?

What about tamper-evident packaging and maybe temperature sensors signaling trouble?

Daphne Allen