Proposed Bill Would Allow FDA to Destroy Counterfeit Products

U.S. lawmakers are considering a bipartisan bill that would give the FDA authority to destroy counterfeit medical devices. 

H.R. 5663 would allow the agency to destroy counterfeit drugs, devices and combination products worth $2,500 or less. The agency currently only has the authority to send counterfeit products back to the manufacturer, which risks putting them back in the market.

In testimony before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, Richard Kaeser, Johnson and Johnson’s vice president of global brand protection, said J&J supports the bill. “We have the opportunity to make our world safer by ensuring that FDA has the authority needed to destroy counterfeit drugs, devices and combination products,” he said.