- According to the WHO, 10% of the drugs sold globally are apocryphal.
- In addition to being a crime, it also endangers the integrity of people.
- Through a review, the counterfeiting of two medicines in Mexico was identified.
Counterfeiting of medicines has become one of the most serious current problems. Not only is it a criminal offence, but it also affects consumers because it creates a false sense of security. While in the worst case scenario it can even cause deadly consequences.
In accordance with According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 10 percent of the drugs sold globally are apocryphal. With the rise of social networks, this activity has increased, which also generates millions in losses for the pharmaceutical industry.
Just to put it in perspective, the consumption of counterfeit medicines causes between 300,000 and one million deaths each year worldwide. While on the economic level it is estimated that the black market for illicit medicines generates profits of 150 million dollars a year.
But although it may seem that this problem is foreign to Mexico, it is not really like that. Today the Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) published an alert on the illegal sale of products to which they pass through the children’s medicines Rosel solution and Desenfriol-ito plus. Therefore, a call is made not to consume them because they are counterfeits that represent risks to the health of pediatric patients.
How to identify the first drug?
It was determined the counterfeit Rosel product (amantadine, chlorphenamine, paracetamol) in 60ml solution presentation, with batch 200413which has an expiration date of December 2024, as a result of the analysis carried out by this authority based on the information presented by the company Wermar Pharmaceuticals.
Wermar Pharmaceuticals reported that this medicine stopped being manufactured as of April 2021, due to the fact that the company updated the procedure before this federal authority.
Given this information, Cofepris recommends that the general population not purchase Rosel children’s solution with the aforementioned name and any other, since its manufacture is suspended. Likewise, the support of health professionals is requested not to prescribe this medication and to seek other treatment alternatives.
Another counterfeit children’s medicine
Also, it is reported counterfeit drug Desenfriol-ito Pluswith pharmaceutical formula chewable tablet, name X23V7X and expiration date of December 2023.
Bayer de México, holder of the sanitary registry, informed Cofepris that the expiration date was modified, since the date of the original medicine is April 2021. Another of the characteristics of the irregular product is the image of the box because it does not correspond to the authentic for this batch.
Cofepris recommends that, prior to purchasing this treatment, it be verified that the batch, expiration date and image correspond to those authorized and that the counterfeits mentioned here are avoided. Distributors and pharmacies are also invited to review the inventory of Desenfriol-ito Plus and in the event of having counterfeit product parts, their sale must be suspended and this regulatory agency notified.
In case of detecting the commercialization of these counterfeit medicines, the telephone number 800 033 5050 is made available; the official page and the directory of the Comprehensive Service Centers, present throughout the Mexican Republic, to present the corresponding health complaint.
Also read:
Counterfeit drugs against breast cancer and diabetes: So you can identify them
7 keys to differentiate deception products from medicines according to Cofepris
Cofepris health alert: These 5 medicines were counterfeit