Novo Nordisk: Top 10 Pharma Cargo Thefts

Novo Nordisk Truck

Date: February 9, 2009
Time: Unknown
Location: Conover, NC
Value: $11 million
Drugs Stolen: Insulin - Levemir

The driver staged his trailer in a truck yard, but when he returned both truck and trailer were gone. The tractor was equipped with GPS technology, but it had been disabled.  

In their effort to combat cargo thieves, drugmakers and distributors are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Standard measures now include a 200-mile moratorium on stopping after a run starts, background checks for drivers, use of driver teams and satellite/GPS tracking. Thieves have countered by meticulously searching for tracking devices in shipments and disabling them. For the industry it has become a technological arms race to combat cargo theft. But greater cooperation with law enforcement also is needed.

Resolution: A few months later, diabetic patients were hospitalized after they had taken some of the stolen insulin, which was improperly refrigerated. No arrests were made.