Fake Diabetes Test Strips Found in India

Healthcare giant, Johnson & Johnson, has found counterfeit versions of its diabetes test strips in India. The company has an ongoing battle across the globe to get rid of any fake products.

A notice posted online by Johnson & Johnson's LifeScan business recently stated the products were being made to look like their OneTouch Ultra blood glucose test strips. These counterfeit products lack certain features such as the trademark that should be printed on the test strips.

Johnson & Johnson thinks that the fake strips were manufactured in China and then repackaged in different packaging in India. The company doesn't know how many fake test strips were made and distributed, but they do believe that it's a very small percentage of the total strips available in India.

Indian police carried out a raid in February where they arrested three men who were connected to the fake products. These arrests were made in the New Delhi area. Now, Johnson & Johnson says that it is working with the Drugs Controller General of India. They are also working with customs officials to prevent the steak strips from entering or being distributed in India.

Johnson & Johnson's OneTouch strips of are made to be used with meters which help diabetics monitor their blood sugar levels. The danger is that fake strips can give inaccurate readings that can cause life-threatening situations for patients who would then take too little or too much of their insulin.

This is not the first time the Johnson & Johnson has found some of its test strips being counterfeited. They found some on the market in the United States in 2006 which caused them to start waging a very aggressive fight to make sure that counterfeiting rings are taken down.