FDA warns vs buying drugs from sari-sari stores

MANILA, Philippines - Consumers should not buy medicine from sari-sari or neighborhood convenience stores and other unlicensed drug outlets, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday.

“The FDA cannot assure the consumers that the medicine sold from these illegal outlets were manufactured under good manufacturing practice. Contaminated or adulterated medicines may result in unexpected… side effects,” FDA acting director Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-Go said in an advisory.

He cautioned that improperly handled and stored medicine, “particularly biological products, are rendered ineffective when exposed to extreme temperatures and humidity.”

“Consumers who buy prescription drugs from sari-sari stores run the risk of suffering from adverse reactions, some of which may be life-threatening. Patients may unknowingly buy a counterfeit products containing inert ingredients or genuine medicine that have expired and have been resold by unscrupulous peddlers,” Go added.

Go has urged patients who may have suffered from adverse drug reactions or adverse events after taking medicine brought from unlicensed drug outlets to report to the FDA’s Adverse Drug Reaction Unit at 858-1900 local 2221.