Fake Medicines

From his 'Fake House' stuffed with counterfeit goods, presenter Dominic Littlewood reveals the extent of fake medicines in the UK.

We investigate the huge market in unlicensed and fake medicines and show how easy it is to purchase a wide range of prescription drugs online without a prescription. An analysis of drugs bought by the programme to see what they actually contain brings shocking results. We meet the victims of pharmaceutical industry fakes and see the work of the MHRA, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority, as they try and track down the infiltration of fake medicine into the UK.

We also see the drugs which have bypassed the controls and found their way into the NHS, including fake medicines produced in the Far East in appalling conditions. Far greater profits for criminals can be made from fake pharmaceuticals than can be made from smuggling and dealing in class A drugs, and we follow the work of the UK Border agency as they intercept fake drugs entering the country.

Plus, we hear from the mother who had the distressing experience of injecting her diabetic daughter with insulin using very painful fake needles supplied by the NHS.