The medicines — Coartem 20/120 and Zentel tablets — were identified after a surveillance activity in the Ashanti and Eastern Regions by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA).
A further test of the medicines by the FDA using a Truscan RM analyzer test revealed the presence of falsified substances.
The FDA, in a detailed description of the falsified drugs, indicated the product names to be Coartem 20/120 with batch number NOF 2153 expiry date 05/2020, manufacturing date 06/2017, declared active ingredient, Arlemether/ Lumefantrine and stated manufacturer, Novarlis Pharmaceuticals, Corporation, Suffern, New York, USA.
Another falsified malaria medicine, Coartem 20/120, had a batch number of F2261, expiry date of 03/2020, manufacturing date of 03 2017 and a declared active ingredient as Artemether/ Lumefantrine with manufacturer being Novarlis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Suffern, New York, USA.
The Zentel tablets had a batch number 340945, expiry date of 07/2019, manufacturing date of 08/14, declared active ingredient.
“Please note that the falsified Zentel has NAFDAC registration number and an Arabic writing on the pack,” a press statement issued by the FDA stated.
The FDA also raised an alert over the probability of the falsified products finding their way into health facilities nationwide and, therefore, advised all persons in charge of these facilities to check for the presence or availability of the products in their facility, detain and report to the FDA immediately.
“The general public is advised to be vigilant and avoid Coartem (with batch numbers “NOF 2153″ and IF2261″) and Zentel (with the batch numbers 11340945”) and to inform the FDA of any regulated products found on the market which do not comply with the standards,” the FDA stated.
Meanwhile, the FDA is ensuring that all products with the indicated batch numbers are recalled from the market in order to safeguard public health and safety.
Credit:ModernGhana
