Watch the door, take the keys

It's been a good summer for drug theft. Mylan subsidiary Dey announced last Wednesday the theft of two lots of its Albuterol sulfate inhalation unit-dose vials. GlaxoSmithKline announced Monday that two lots of Advair Diskus medication were stolen earlier this month from the company's distribution facility near Richmond, VA, while awaiting shipment to retail pharmacies.

Both announcements mentioned, of course, that the stolen doses could represent a health risk and should not be sold because the storage conditions outside their normal supply chains are unknown.

And as we reported in late July, Sanofi-aventis recently lost to thieves a trailer full of the blood thinner Lovenox, the antihistamines Xyzal and Nasacort AQ nasal spray, and acne treatment BenzaClin Gel. The shipment contained, according to Securing Pharma.

A recent UPS supply chain survey found that serialization is rising as concern among drug makers, likely in response the rising amount of trailer thefts, especially those involving controlled substances.

- here's the Dey announcement
- see the GSK notice
- see our coverage of the Sanofi-aventis theft
- here's information on the UPS survey

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Material shortages make opportunity for theft