Free Republic

Unauthorized and potentially counterfeit, dangerous surgical devices and medical supplies have flowed unchecked into the Department of Veterans Affairs supply chain and into VA operating rooms, according to internal agency correspondence from a major supplier who blamed new procurement rules. The bogus supplies gained a foothold when the department started using reverse auctions to fulfill some contracts, according to both department officials and a 2012 memo from Johnson & Johnson, the world’s largest medical device business. In the memo, the company told the VA it was getting surgical supplies bought from unauthorized distributors through the so-called “gray market,” and said...

NEW YORK - Philip Morris wants to black out the online gray market for smokes. Only problem is, the company is tilting at ghosts. On Sept. 19, Philip Morris USA, a division of Philip Morris, filed eight lawsuits in New York and California against Web sites Dfshop.org, cheapmarlboro.com, smoke.shop4all.net and others for the illegal sale of foreign-made cigarettes to United States and Canadian consumers. The company is also suing over trademark infringement and false claims that the sites make about the legality of their sales. In two complaints released by Philip Morris, the company names defendants with WHOIS-registered addresses in...