FDA warns vs fake drugs
MANILA, Philippines — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned the public against the proliferation of fake over-the-counter medicines that it said could cause adverse health effects if ingested.
In an advisory, FDA director general Eric Domingo said the public should only buy medicines from licensed establishments, especially after they have verified that four popular drug brands had been counterfeited.
These drugs are Ponstan (mefenamic acid, 500 mg tablet), Diatabs (loperamide, 2 mg capsule), Solmux (carbocisteine, 500 mg capsule) and Neozep Forte (phenylephrine HCl/chlorphenamine maleate/paracetamol, 2 mg/10 mg/500 mg tablet).
The lot numbers of the counterfeit drugs are: 429-30228A (with expiry date of September 2024) for Ponstan; U018407 for Diatabs; U089493 for Solmux; and U261217 for Neozep Forte.
FDA noted that the logo, security mark and knurling of the counterfeits do not match those of the authentic drug registered with the agency.
‘Adverse health effects’
“All health-care professionals and the public are being warned against the proliferation of these fake medicines in the market which may cause adverse health effects to its users. All establishments are likewise being warned not to sell these counterfeit medicines,” Domingo said in Advisory No. 2020-1877-A.
Domingo urged local officials and law enforcement agencies to ensure these counterfeits would be seized.
He added that the public should report those selling these counterfeit products through (02) 88095596 or email [email protected].
Those who may have already taken these counterfeits are asked to file a report at primaryreporting.who-umc.org/Reporting/Reporter?OrganizationID=PH.
