Unilab warns public vs. fake medicines

Local pharmaceutical giant Unilab Inc. on Thursday issued a warning against the proliferation of fake medicines as the country battles with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are committed to safeguarding the health and wellness of our fellow Filipinos. Together with the Philippine Food and Drug (FDA) administration and other government authorities, we are doing everything in our power to suppress the proliferation of counterfeit medicines in the country,” Unilab said in an advisory.

“We advise the public to remain vigilant when buying healthcare products, and to purchase only from trusted drugstores and retailers,” it added.

On Tuesday, the FDA urged the public to be wary of fake COVID-19 vaccines as the country grapples with a supply shortage. 

The agency warned that fake vaccines could be contaminated with hazardous substances that could cause severe disease, permanent disability, or death.

It gave some of the indications that a COVID-19 vaccine is fake:

• The vaccine is incorrectly labeled or not labeled at all
• The vaccine has an out-of-date or missing expiry date
• The vaccine does not contain storage instructions
• The packaging is poorly constructed or appears to have been altered
• The packaging has spelling or grammatical errors
• The vial is dirty or scratched
• The cap is dented or broken
• The rubber seal has been punctured
• For products that need to be diluted, the solution changes color, becomes cloudy, or contains foreign objects

President Rodrigo Duterte has warned against selling fake vaccines, urging unscrupulous traders not to exacerbate the impact of the pandemic. 

Unilab said if the public has information regarding the sale or distribution of counterfeit medicine, they may report it to the following channels:

FDA - (02) 88095596 or email at report@fda.gov.ph
Unilab - (02) 8864-5221 or message through its Facebook page

The Bureau of Customs has also supported calls to strongly warn the public against fake vaccines in light of the President's directive to import COVID-19 vaccines. —Ted Cordero/KBK, GMA News