Drugstore raids net P15-M fake pain killers
The Philippine National Police–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) and a Manila court sheriff recently seized counterfeit medicines in a series of raids in Cainta, Rizal, and in Isabela province.
The operations stemmed from a complaint for patent infringement filed by the pharmaceutical firm MSD, the sole developer and distributor of the anti-inflammatory drug Etoricoxib in the Philippines.
A statement from the company said the authorities confiscated boxes of the Torico and Xibra brands of the drug with a total estimated value of P15 million.
The raids were conducted June 13 to 16 on the Mark Ericson and Ferma drugstores in Isabela and Ellebasy in Cainta, based on a writ of search and seizure issued by Judge Lyliha L. Abella-Aquino of Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 24.
Etoricoxib, a product of MSD (Merck & Co. Inc. in the US and Canada), is protected under Philippine Patent No. 1-1997-57352, which is in force until 2022.
The company is represented in the complaint by Sapalo Velez Bundang & Bulilan Law Offices and IProbe investigators.
Article continues after this advertisementThe owners and employees of the three drugstores are facing charges for violation of the Intellectual Property Code, the firm said.
