title: Availability and quality of illegitimate somatropin products obtained from the Internet.
abstract: Background Growth hormones are widely available on the Internet for those who want to enhance their physical performance and improve body satisfaction. Illegitimate websites market somatropin injections without medical prescription and encourage misuse. Customers potentially put their health at risk when purchasing parenteral medications online. Objective The objective of our study was to evaluate the online market of no-prescription somatropin products and to analyse and document Internet pharmacy characteristics, distribution and pharmaceutical quality. Setting Websites indexed in Google promoting somatropin for sale direct to patients. Method Websites promoting the sale of growth hormone products were identified and analysed from June to August 2014. Internet vendor sites were evaluated to identify possible patient and medication safety concerns. Website characteristics, delivery time, storage conditions, packaging and attached product information were assessed. Investigation of the somatropin content was achieved using capillary electrophoresis with UV detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Main outcome measure Accessibility and quality of somatropin injections. Results Seventeen individual Internet vendor websites distributed somatropin products directly to patients, majority (94%) did not require a valid medical prescription before dispensing the products. Majority (70%) of Internet pharmacies displayed no medical information and none (0%) of the vendors displayed any regulatory body logo. All online samples had significantly (p < 0.001) lower somatropin concentration than labelled. Conclusion Our results clearly illustrate that prescription only biologic drugs are widely available online and can be easily accessed by anyone. Unprofessional distribution and handling is likely to cause degradation and possible patient safety concerns.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics and Central Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Pécs, 3 Honvéd Street, Pecs, 7624, Hungary. vida.robert@pte.hu.
authors.forename: Róbert György
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1176-0251
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Vida
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics and Central Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Pécs, 3 Honvéd Street, Pecs, 7624, Hungary.
authors.forename: András
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fittler
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics and Central Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Pécs, 3 Honvéd Street, Pecs, 7624, Hungary.
authors.forename: Ivett
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mikulka
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics and Central Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Pécs, 3 Honvéd Street, Pecs, 7624, Hungary.
authors.forename: Eszter
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ábrahám
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioanalysis and Szentágothai Research Centre, Medical School, University of Pécs, 1 Honvéd Street, Pecs, 7624, Hungary.
authors.forename: Viktor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sándor
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioanalysis and Szentágothai Research Centre, Medical School, University of Pécs, 1 Honvéd Street, Pecs, 7624, Hungary.
authors.forename: Ferenc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kilár
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics and Central Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Pécs, 3 Honvéd Street, Pecs, 7624, Hungary.
authors.forename: Lajos
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Botz
mesh_terms: D058110:Counterfeit Drugs; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D060946:Pharmaceutical Services, Online / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D055553:Prescription Drugs / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D058110:Counterfeit Drugs; D055553:Prescription Drugs; D019382:Human Growth Hormone
keywords: Growth hormone; Illegal medicines; Internet pharmacy; Medication safety; Online medicines; Somatropin