On Sunday, Kenya issued a public alert warning against sale of a false batch of cancer medicine that poses immense health risks to civilians.
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Fred Siyoi, the chief executive officer of the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, a state-owned regulatory body, said that the batch of Herceptin 440mg (Trastuzumab 440mg), a medicine product that has been detected in the market is suspicious and falsified.
"It is not authorized to be in the market and is a falsified product in view of the falsified contents, packaging and labeling aspects which have been confirmed by the brand owner," Siyoi said in a statement issue in Kenya's capital of Nairobi.
Siyoi said that the specific product batch number C5830083 is a confirmed counterfeit that is claimed to be manufactured in Germany by Roche Products Ltd, bearing the Batch number C5830083, Mfg. Date: 12/2021, Exp. Date: 11/2024.
Herceptin is a medicine that is recommended to cancer patients to prevent growth and spread of cancer cells in the body. It is also approved for the treatment of early-stage breast cancer that is human epidermal growth that has spread into the lymph nodes.
Siyoi cautioned the public against the use, supply, sale or distribution of the product batch number C5830083 as their safety, quality and efficacy cannot be assured.
He added that the regulator has instituted legal actions against individuals suspected to be circulating fake medicine in contravention of the Pharmacy and Poisons Act (Cap. 244).
Siyoi noted that Kenya has initiated a rapid response and heightened surveillance of the market to ensure that safety and public health is protected.
He said that Kenya has established robust market surveillance and control systems that continuously monitor the quality and safety of medical products in the local market.
Siyoi called on members of the public and healthcare providers to report and volunteer information on suspicious activities that may be related to such acts of falsification as well as all suspicious, substandard, and falsified medical products.