Drugs

FDA Satellite Labs Block Illegal Drugs: Batson

David McFarland

— 1 min read
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Since 2021, the FDA Satellite Laboratory Branch of the National Forensic Chemistry Center in the Office of the Chief Scientist has analyzed and helped to block two million lot units (capsules and tablets) of illegal, counterfeit, and other unsafe drug and medical products from reaching U.S. consumers and patients. Writing in an FDA Voices column, Satellite Laboratory Branch director JaCinta Batson says the blocked products typically are marketed online and often lure customers with cheap prices and unproven cures. She says they are designed to exploit vulnerable communities with devastating outcomes.

The post explains that FDA has satellite laboratories inside high-volume international mail facilities at airports in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and, since 2025, Honolulu. “The goal of the chemists working in these laboratories is to analyze and stop suspicious imported drugs, some containing potentially lethal, never-before-seen substances, before they can harm the public,” Batson writes. “Millions of packages from overseas arrive daily at U.S. international mail facilities. By operating on the frontlines, inside compact laboratories outfitted with specially selected and tested instruments, our chemists provide a critical line of defense, helping block dangerous drugs, including synthetic opioids from China, from entering the country’s supply chain.”

The post includes these examples that FDA recently was able to detect, analyze, and help intercept:

  • tablets containing a novel synthetic opioid with a potency estimated to be 25 times greater than fentanyl;
  • single capsules containing multiple drugs, some of which are controlled substances, including sibutramine, diazepam, fluoxetine, hydrochlorothiazide, furosemide, cimetidine, bupropion, and bisacodyl; and
  • tablets containing 2C-B-FLY, a psychedelic designer drug from the phenethylamine and FLY families (named for its chemical structure’s resemblance to a flying insect).

Batson says that any new analog that the FDA scientists discover is added to the agency’s drug library with its unique “fingerprint,” to support future detection and targeting.

“Harmful illegal and counterfeit drugs may always pose a threat to the U.S., and so-called ‘dark’ chemistry is currently a reality,” she concludes. “But FDA is one step ahead, and working every day to apply expertise, ingenuity, and dedication to protecting Americans’ public health.”

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