By Desire Emmanuel
The National Agency for Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Thursday, March 26, alerted healthcare professionals and the public of a confirmed counterfeit batch of Herceptin 600mg circulating in Nigeria.
According to information on health websites, Herceptin 600mg is a brand name for Trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody used to treat certain types of breast cancer and stomach cancer which specifically attacks cancer cells and is administered via intravenous infusion or injection, often alongside chemotherapy.
NAFDAC, while giving the alert in a statement on Thursday, said it follows official communications from Roche Nigeria confirming a counterfeit case of the drug with batch number A8519B34 reported in Lagos State.
It added that the counterfeited batch of the product was said to have been offered to a customer by an unnamed pharmacy in Lagos at a significantly lower price of N50,000 compared to the standard rate which is higher.
On investigation, the Roche Nigeria compared the pictures of the counterfeit Herceptin 600mg provided by the complainant with the genuine packaging material and the comparison revealed significant differences from genuine packaging.
While speaking on what it described as ‘risk statement,’ NAFDAC said the counterfeit Herceptin 600mg may contain incorrect or no active ingredients, harmful contaminants, or incorrect dosage strength and this may result in treatment failure, disease progression, serious adverse events, or death.
The agency therefore urged healthcare professionals and consumers to report any suspicion of the sale of substandard and falsified medicines or medical devices to the nearest NAFDAC office.
