Cytostatic: Top Counterfeit Drugs

In May, 22-year-old Canadian Hazim Gaber pleaded guilty in Phoenix to selling fake cancer drugs over the Internet. Gaber sold what he claimed was the high-demand experimental drug DCA, sodium dichloroacetate. The substance he sold, however, comprised such common white powders as starch, dextrin, dextrose or lactose. His customers included 65 people in North America and Europe.

In another case, thousands of patients in the UK were asked to keep an eye out for a fake batch of the prostate cancer drug Casodex after the discovery in 2007 of counterfeit tablets. Drug regulators eventually recalled a batch. Police launched a criminal investigation.